Going Home
by fanfic333
Summary: What if Sara, Slade, and Shado had all survived the Island and returned home to Starling City with Oliver? Follow these four as they navigate a life no longer constantly worrying about survival. There are no ships, these four characters have developed a family relationship and sense of camraderie. Oliver is still the Arrow and his five years on the island are similar to the show.
1. Chapter 1

With 10 minutes left on the clock, counting down the seconds until Anatoly's help arrived near the sandy shores of Lian Yu, Oliver raced against time to catch what may be he and his friends last chance off this pure hell of an island. As he left Kovar's lifeless body on the ground along with six of his loyal mercenaries he ran through the thick forest searching for Slade, Shado, and Sara. He had been out hunting alone when Kovar's men managed to capture him and detain him in the same underground cage he was imprisoned in one year ago. He could only hope that his three friends, that he now considered family after all the life-threatening situations they had been through together over the last five years, would be at the beach waiting just in time to get the hell off this damn island. He could feel the overgrown trees and bushes scrape past his scarred skin and the leaves crunch beneath his sore feet as he hastily ran towards the supplies kit they had left hidden in the underbrush containing a beard and wig long enough to convince his friends and family in Starling City that he had spent the last five years on a deserted island with no barber shops. To his utmost relief when he arrived at the old wooden suitcase Slade was currently standing hunched over it while passing an old handmade bow to Shado.

Hearing the man approach Slade turned around and spotted Oliver, "Oh thank God kid, where the bloody hell have you been?"

"Ollie, I was worried about you, What happened?" asked a concerned Sara as Shado sat on the ground momentarily pausing the action of preparing an arrow to carefully examine over Oliver's body from head to toe and make sure he was indeed alright.

"It's OK, I'm fine. It turns out Kovar wasn't as dead as we thought but I can assure you that he most definitely is now." Oliver walked over to the suitcase and Sara handed him his fake hair.

"We can talk about this after the four of us are sitting contently on a fishing boat sailing away from these hellish shores so hurry your arses up and lets go!" proclaimed an anxious Slade in his deep Australian accent that made his voice sound like he had sand paper in his throat. So, the four of them continued to put on their hair extensions, throw away there shoes, and jump across the island, running at top speed, to reach the edge of a rocky cliff above a twenty foot high pile of wood waiting to be ignited. Oliver was the first to reach the finish line, "looks like I beat you again Slade!", he jovially called back to his now slightly annoyed brother.

"Umph just you wait kid, I'll show you how it looks to really win the next time we spar" Slade said with now an amused smirk on his face as he watched Oliver's stupid grin turn to an annoyed frown. Slade, with his experience in ASIS, had always been a better fighter than Oliver. Although to Oliver's delight he had always been a faster runner and better archer than Slade which he made sure to constantly remind him.

"Alright boys, you can bicker like children later on the boat but now Oliver would you like to do the honors", said Shado amused by their childish antics and sibling rivalry while she gave Oliver the flaming arrow in which he would use to hopefully light the signal fire.

"If you screw this up kid, I am going to kill you." Oliver drew the bow and without thinking released the arrow and watched it fly through the chilled air right into the pile of stacked wood causing it to explode into a burst of tall flames.

"That was perfect Ollie, and just in time, I think I can see the fishing boat that Anatoly sent!" exclaimed an excited Sara happy to finally be returning home to her family in Starling City. The four of them flew down to the rocky beach and threw their arms in the air, screaming and waving in hopes to catch the fisherman's attention. To all of their utter joy the boat began to move in the direction of Lian Yu. "I can't believe this is happening Ollie, we are finally going home. What if Laurel is super angry with me? What if after what I did to her she won't even care that I'm still alive?" Sara said worriedly, her initial excitement at seeing her family again clouded by the worry that after what she did to Laurel might make them not happy to see her.

"Don't worry about that Sara, if your family is going to be angry at anyone it will most definitely be me, OK. They love you and that it is not going to change over one mistake that happened five years ago. Your family will be so happy to find out you are still alive." Oliver said hoping to reassure Sara's doubts about seeing her sister again. He still blamed himself for everything that happened to Sara no matter how many times she tried to convince him otherwise. And he knew that her family, especially Laurel and don't even talk about Detective Lance, would not be waiting for him with open arms when they got back, more like a closed fist or quite a few actually.

Slade's thoughts started to wander to his son , Joe. He wondered how he was doing, what his life must be like. Although, one thing he did know was that for now his son was better off without him. He wasn't ready to start being a parent again and honestly after everything he had done he didn't think he deserved to be around his son again. Because of this he had decided that he was going to travel to Starling City with Sara and Oliver partially because although he hated to admit it he cared too much about the people he had learned to call family to part ways with them now.

Shado was looking forward to going to Starling City with the rest of them. After watching her father, Yao Fei, die right in front of her, by a bullet to the head, she had no more family left in China to return to. Her only family now was Slade, Oliver, and Sara which is why she planned on going to Starling with them. Although she thought about her father everyday she cared deeply about her friends and was so thankful that she had found them.

They all stood before the fast coming fishing boat contemplating the end of their time constantly trying to survive and the beginning of returning home and being alive.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

Two Chinese fisherman looked up with alarm and surprise when they caught the sight of a large fiery explosion along the beach of a near island. Then they were even more shocked to see four small dots running along the shoreline of what they had believed to be an abandoned island. It was obvious to them that whoever these crazy people were, they were trying to gain their attention so with little thought they steered ahead towards Lian Yu.

As the two men approached the rocky beach and walked on to the ominous island cautiously they passed by a four foot tall stick in the ground adorning a large black ski mask that was charred on one side with an arrow through its eye. That foreboding omen made the two men very wary as they neared closer to the four people they had seen from their boat. As they moved closer they suddenly stood before the sight of two giant looking cavemen and two strong women that by the looks of it could use some shampoo. Without knowing how to proceed one of the men spoke, "do you need help?", but he wasn't sure if any of them would be able understand their native language.

To both of the fisherman's surprise the dark haired girl stepped forward and responded in fluent Chinese. "Yes, my friends and I have been stranded here for years and we really need a way off this island. Could the four of us ride on your boat back to the mainland please?".

"Of course, of course. Right this way, you poor things I can't even imagine. Let's go and get you all settled, we have a few hour journey ahead of us before we reach Hong Kong", replied the fisherman eager to help these people who appeared to be so worn and tired.

"Thank you for your generosity", replied Oliver in Chinese, he was so thankful that everything had finally worked out albeit not exactly according to his forty-eight hour plan but now he could finally sail away from these foggy shores for hopefully the last time.

The four dirty and ragged friends hurriedly climbed aboard the fishing boat and sat down as the chilly sea breeze wafted over the poignant smell of dead fish. The two Chinese fishermen brought over a couple of worn gray blankets and four cups of water in hopes of making their guests more comfortable. Although, there were only two blankets available so Sara and Slade each took one.

"Here Shado take mine I don't need a blanket, I've gone many a night without one", offered Slade.

"I don't need your chivalry Slade, although I could use a first aid kit. Don't think I didn't notice those new wounds you were trying to hide, Oliver." Shado then asked one of the fisherman if they had any medical supplies she could borrow because her friend was hurt. The man kindly brought over all the supplies he could find.

"It's just a few cuts Shado, nothing to worry about." replied Oliver. He never liked to bring too much attention to himself whenever he got injured. Oliver preferred to just brush it off as nothing because it's not like this wasn't a common occurrence for all of them over the last five years or as Slade liked to point out mostly him because he was the most clumsy. Shado took the small kit from the kind Chinese man and moved to stand behind Oliver.

"You call this nothing! How the hell did you manage to burn your entire lower back Oliver?" exclaimed an exasperated Shado as she peered down at the blistering angry red skin of his lower back where his shirt was singed off due to whatever he must of bumped into.

Hearing the conversation between Shado and Oliver, Slade and Sara decided to come and take a look to make sure their friend wasn't seriously hurt. "Ooh Ollie, that looks painful. You should have said something earlier, it could get infected!", said Sara.

"What happened kid, did you loose control of those giant feet of yours and tumble into a fire pit?" teased Slade as he looked at Oliver's scarred skin. Seeing it reminded him of the time he practically had his face burnt off when he ran into one of Ivo's missiles three years ago. That was not a happy experience.

"Shut up Slade, and NO I did not _tumble_ into a fire pit. I was simply pushed into a burning plane", stated Oliver matter of factually.

"Sorry my bad kid, I should have guessed seeing as how abundant this island is of burning planes. Only you could find yourself in such a situation", Slade replied sarcastically.

"Excuse me Slade, you spent years _living_ in a crashed plane", jived Oliver.

"Alright, alright that's enough children what happened Oliver?" asked a concerned Shado as Sara stood amused by the two boys in front of her.

"Like I said before, turns out Kovar was alive and he was angry at me for trying to kill him back in Russia. He was holding me down in Lian Yu's prison, we chatted for a bit, and then I escaped. Once he realized that I was going to take down any of the men he sent after me, he chased me down in a plane but I shot it out of the sky causing it to catch fire. After that Kovar and I fought, evidently I won." explained Oliver as simply as possible because even though he knew he could tell his friends anything he just didn't like talking about those kind of things.

Unfortunately for Oliver, Slade continued to push, "what do you mean by the two of you _chatted?"._ Slade might enjoy constantly teasing the kid but he was still very protective of him and he needed to know exactly what had happened.

"I don't know, he had this weird drug that made me relive a painful experience every time he touched one of my scars. He then uh, he gave me a gun and told me the longest a man had ever lasted was twelve minutes", Oliver said timidly, "although to his surprise I actually quite like myself so I used the bullet on the cell door instead of my head", he added trying to bring some levity into the conversation.

"I am so sorry you had to go through that Ollie", Sara sympathized meanwhile Slade stood staring at Oliver's back lowly growling.

"Okay, well Oliver you should keep drinking that water and here take some herbs. That should help with any lasting side effects from the drug that might still be in your system and hopefully prevent your burns from getting infected. Sara can you stitch up Oliver's two front lacerations while I clean the burns? And Slade go get some more water", commanded Shado as she took charge of the situation which consisted of fixing up her friend. After that everyone went to do as they were told. It was clear to everyone that Oliver was in a great deal of pain but he hid it well. Even though most people would see his stoic and stony mask as an expression of indifference, they could recognize the tinge of pain in his blue eyes because they all did the same thing in situations like this. Oliver continued to stay quiet as he let Sara and Shado patch him up with bandages. Once that was finished Slade handed his blanket over to Oliver knowing from his own experience that large burns could cause the body temperature to decrease especially since they were out on the open water and the sun was beginning to set. Later on the two fishermen brought over some cooked fish that they had caught earlier that morning for the four friends to have for dinner.

"We will reach Hong Kong by dawn", said one of the men in Chinese.

Once taking the offered dish Sara responded also in fluent Chinese, "Thank you so much, also I was wondering do you happen to have a phone we could use?".

"Yes, of course here you go", replied the fisherman. At the sight of the phone large grins of anticipation spread across the faces of Sara and Oliver. Sara took the small outdated phone in her dirt covered hands and just gazed down at the small device. She had been looking forward to this moment for five years, imagining what she would say when she finally heard her father's voice, and now that it was finally here, she was nervous. She was beyond nervous, she was terrified. What if her father didn't even answer? What if he did but then hung up on her? What if-, Sara's internal battle of what she should do jolted to a halt when Oliver placed his large hand atop her smaller one.

"Remember what we talked about, your family is going to be overjoyed to find out your coming home Sara. All you have to do is make the call", Oliver said trying to ease her thoughts and encourage her to contact Detective Lance.

"I know Ollie. Your right, I'm just going to do it." Sara then continued to dial what was still hopefully her father's phone number. She sat stone still as she listened to the phone ring in her ear waiting for him to pick up.

"a'yello, Detective Lance speaking." It's him, she couldn't believe it. His voice sounded just as she remembered. This was it, her father was right on the other side of this call and now all she had to do was say hello.

"Daddy, it's Sara", oh God maybe she should have planned out what she wanted to say before she blurts out something like _Hi Dad I'm not dead_ into the telephone. Oh well, her name was as good of a start as any, Sara thought to herself.

"Wha-, look whatever punk is trying to play some evil prank, you should know I'm a detective and-" said Lance before he was cut off by his daughter.

"Daddy, no wait please, It's really me. It's Sara, come on you have to believe me!", begged Sara desperately trying to convince her father.

"Oh God, I must be drunk. So drunk I don't even remember drinking. This isn't real Quentin. This can't be real. Your daughter is dead", replied Lance.

"What?! No daddy I can prove this is real. Okay, uh remember when I was ten and you brought me home a bird that ended driving everyone else in the house crazy, it was a Canary, you remember?", asked Sara hoping this was enough to convince him of the truth.

"Sara? Sara, oh my God my baby girl is that you?", said Lance. Sara could hear the emotion in his voice and knew she had finally gotten through to him.

"Yea, Daddy it's really me. No tricks I promise."

"But, h-how is this possible? Where are you honey? Are you okay? Are you safe? What happened?", Lance started shooting a myriad of questions at her.

"Uh yea, yea daddy I'm safe", she cried into the phone, suddenly having her father concerned about her making it too hard to keep her emotions in check. "I survived the Gambit and have been stranded on an island called Lian Yu for the last five years. I'm currently on a boat in what I think is the um, North China Sea. We are going to be in Hong Kong in a few hours, I think. I'm coming home daddy", explained Sara, her voice filled with happiness and relief at finally being able to say those last four words.

"Oh my God, my baby girl is coming home. This is- wait did you say "we" honey?".

"Yea, daddy I did. Uh, Oliver he's uh with me, he survived the Gambit too. Also we met two other people who were also stranded on the island. The four of us are all coming to Starling City together."

"Alright, well uh, I can arrange a private flight for the four of you in Hong Kong to Starling. I'm sure the Queens would love to pay for it. I'm just so glad that your alive my baby girl."

"Thanks daddy, well I um have to go. Oliver still has to call his mom."

"Right um, okay I love you Sara and your mother, sister, and I will all be waiting for you the second you get home okay."

"Okay Daddy I love you too", cried Sara. She really didn't want to ever say goodbye but she knew that Oliver was just as anxious to hear the voice of his mother so she had to finish up.

"Bye, my sweet baby girl", replied a mushy emotion filled Lance. Sara said bye and then hung up the phone before she delayed the inevitable any longer. She looked up from her conversation to see the others all looking at her with sympathetic eyes.

"Are you okay?", Shado asked softly.

"Yea, I- I'm great. This is just really surreal, I cant' believe we are actually going home", replied Sara as she thought about the first conversation she had just had with her father. The first one since before she stepped on the Gambit condemning her to a life of survival for the next five years. The others all nodded their heads as they understood exactly how Sara was feeling. After being away for so long, the thought of returning seemed unreal. Sara then passed the phone to Oliver so that he could call his mother.

Oliver eagerly took the phone from Sara and quickly punched in his mother's last known phone number. He was so nervous that as he listened to the cell ringing in his ear, his leg bounced up and down so fast it looked like the needle of a sewing machine at top speed.

Then all of the sudden he heard his mother's voice, "Hello", and he froze. That was her. This was really happening. "Hello?", Moira, his mother, repeated a little more sharply. That's when he realized he hadn't actually said anything back yet. "Who is this?", he heard her ask.

"Mom, it's Oliver", he finally answered. He decided to follow Sara's example and just start with his name.

"My son has been dead for five years. Please don't call here again", replied Moira with a sharp edge to her tone.

" Mom- Mom please. Please just listen to my voice", Oliver pleaded into the phone desperately. He couldn't let her hang up, he just wanted to talk to her so badly. "I did not die on the Gambit. I'm alive. I'm okay", he hastily said into the phone hoping to get it all out before she hung up on him.

"Oliver, Oliver is that you?", Moira asked with an earnest desperation and curiosity.

"Yea mom, it's me. Just please don't hang up, okay", he begged.

"No. oh no no no, I won't. Ohh my beautiful boy! Is-is your father a-a-ali-ve?", Moira replied, her voice filled with emotion.

Oh God, this was the question he knew he would someday have to answer and the question he dreaded ever answering. How does he tell his mother that her husband is really dead? After giving her the hope of his own survival, how does he crush her last of bit hope in believing that Robert might still be alive too? "No, uh h-he-e didn't make it, mom I'm s-sorry", Oliver cried as a few reluctant tears escaped his glossy eyes.

"Ohh Oliver, sweetheart, I-I can't imagine what you've been through, where are you?", she sniffled.

"Um, I-I'm on a boat on my way to Hong Kong. Sara sh-she survived too and we've been on an island for the last five years. We met two other people there and well, the four of us are coming to Starling. I-I'm coming home, mom", he softly cried as more tears fell down his rough cheeks. Finally being able to say those last words to his mother as he listened to the soft sound of her voice finally made him realize that this was real. His years on the island away from his family were over. At this realization, a small smile of relief and happiness spread across his face. "I'm coming home", he repeated.

The sound of Moira sobbing could be heard through the small phone. "I love you! Oh Oliver, I love you so much!".

"I love you too, mom", he missed her so much. Oliver couldn't wait to finally be back at home so that he could finally see his mother and sister who he loved with all of his heart. Although now was the hard part, saying goodbye. He just had to tell himself that in a day or so he wouldn't just be able to hear the sound of her voice, he would be able to see her, to hug her. "Alright mom, I-I have to go, okay. I-I'm sorry but I'll see you real soon, I love you", he said.

"O-okay my son. I'll be here waiting for you, I love you too", she cried.

Once he heard his mother's goodbye he ended the call or else he probably never would have worked up the courage to. Oliver then put the phone down on the bench beside him and pulled the blanket tighter around himself.

Slade had been watching Oliver as he spoke on the phone and although he really wanted to tease the kid for blubbering like a baby, he was happy for him. "You alright, Kid?", he asked.

"Yea, yea I'm fine", Oliver sniffled trying to regain his composure.

"Oh, okay just making sure, that waterfall coming out of your eye holes might have proved otherwise", he just couldn't resist. Oliver saw the teasing smirk on his face so he slowly picked up one of the dead fish beside him and threw it straight at Slade's shoulder hoping to catch him off guard. Although clearly he didn't think that through very well because there was no such thing as catching Slade off guard.

Slade saw the incoming fish before Oliver even threw it and caught it one handed with ease. "Haha, nice try kid", lifting up his head as he laughed.

"Come on, did you really think that was going to work?", asked an amused Shado to Oliver.

Sara decided then to interrupt the three's shenanigans so that they could talk bout their plans once they got off of this boat. While she was speaking, "So, my dad is arranging a plane for us in Hong Kong that will take us straight to Starling", Oliver could be heard muttering "whatever" dejectedly in the background.

"That's great Sara, when we get back will you be staying with your parents?", asked Shado.

"As much as I hate leaving you guys, I really have missed them and I feel like I owe it to them to be there", she replied. She knew that part of the reason she was going to stay with her biological family and not the family she had created over the past five years was because she felt guilty. She couldn't return home after five years of being dead just to leave them again.

"Oh, Slade, Shado, the two of you are more than welcome to stay with me at the mansion. There is plenty of room for the both of you", said Oliver.

"Oh goody, just what I always wanted: to live in a mansion with a bunch of stuck up billionaires", Slade retorted.

"Well actually, it's more like a castle, but okay not helping", added Sara.

"Come on Slade, I think it's going to be really fun. Plus, if it really is that big I'm sure you won't run into annoying rich people that often", said Shado.

"Well obviously my luck ain't too great since I ran into one on a mercenary filled, landmine covered island."

"Hey! I wasn't _that_ bad", responded Oliver jokingly as he lifted a hand to his chest and pretended to be offended.

"Sure kid, that must be why you complained and whined so much", Slade teased.

"Did not"

"Did too"

Oliver was opening up his mouth to argue back when Shado interrupted by saying facetiously, "Alright, alright, Oliver you did whine a lot and Slade you are staying at the mansion. Got it."

"Fine"

"Whatever", they mumbled at the same time not willing to argue with Shado. Once that was settled they all decided that it was time to try and go to sleep. The small fishing boat they were on wasn't equipped with sleeping quarters for so many people so the four of them had to stay on the old wooden deck. Sara and Shado took one of the blankets and laid next to each other on the cold hard floor. Meanwhile Oliver slowly lowered himself to the floor and laid down besides Slade.

"Do you want to share a blanket?", he offered.

"If your suggesting I cuddle with you kid, the answers no."

"Suit yourself, grumpy", replied Oliver as he pulled the blanket up to his chin and closed his eyes. Honestly, he was exhausted. With all the torture he had gone through over the last two days while getting little sleep, he was really tired. Although, no matter how hard he tried to relax, he just couldn't fall asleep. Being on a boat reminded him of memories like the Gambit sinking, loosing Sara, his father's death, and the freighter blowing up. To sum it up, he didn't particularly like boats, they were one of the few things that made him nervous. So, Oliver laid there with his back pressed up against the cold deck, he could feel water seeping through the bandages on his back and the ocean breeze blow across his face, smell the dead fish lying around them, and stared up at the dark night sky as he eventually drifted off into a light sleep.

Slade didn't want to take the blanket from Oliver because he knew the kid would need it. He also knew Oliver had a tendency to get bad nightmares and there current circumstances would probably only make them worse. So, he positioned himself closest to Oliver on the deck and pretended to sleep until he was positive Oliver was too. Not surprisingly, he had to wait a while but eventually he let himself drift into a light slumber as well.

 _The loud thunder roared outside as waves crashed against the side of the boat and rain pelted down against the deck. Then without warning the hull split in half and Ollie and Sara were thrown across the room, Sara slamming her head hard against the wall. Oliver looked up just as he saw Sara get sucked out into the dark waters with blood dripping down her forehead while desperately screaming his name. He managed to get out from inside the yacht and frantically swam through the tumultuous waves trying to find her. She couldn't die. Where was she? Where was she?_

Slade woke up a short time later to find Oliver and Sara both squirming, breathing rapidly, and mumbling incoherent words in their sleep. Shado tried to carefully nudge Sara awake while Slade did the same for Oliver. They knew they had to be cautious because they had all accidentally punched or karate chopped someone while being risen out of a nightmare. Slade placed himself on top of Oliver, careful to prevent putting pressure on any of his injuries, so that he was ready to block any swings the kid might throw. Then he began to repeatedly call his name until he finally woke up with a jolt.

Shado squatted beside Sara and continued to nudge her shoulder while calling out her name in hopes of waking her up. She had a feeling this was going to happen. The rocking of the boat, the cold sea breeze, the soft drizzle of rain that had began to fall while they were all asleep; it was the perfect recipe for bringing up bad memories when they were under very similar yet so different circumstances. Finally, her process seemed to work and Sara gasped in a lung full of air and sat up with a quick jolt.

"Sara?!", Oliver screamed.

"Ollie?!", Sara yelled in tandem.

"Shh, kid it's alright. Your not on the Gambit, Sara is right over there", Slade spoke calmly to Oliver.

"It's okay, Sara. You're okay. You and Ollie are both safe, he is right over there", Shado said comfortingly in an effort to help her calm down.

Still in a panic, Oliver abruptly turned around in search of blonde straggly hair and crystal blue eyes. The fast and sudden movement pulled at the stitches on his chest, causing him to lowly groan because he was still in the midst of his nightmare and didn't have complete control over the part of him that always wanted to keep his pain hidden.

"Take it easy, kid", Slade said as he placed a comforting hand on the man's shoulder.

Sara heard Ollie's cry of her name and hurried to move closer to him. She wrapped her arms around him tightly in a strong embrace and they stayed that way for a few long moments until the panic and fear had subsided in both of them.

Once they had pulled apart Shado asked, "Are you guys okay?".

The two friends looked at each other in the eye and nodded before Oliver turned to Shado and replied, "Yea, we're okay, thanks for waking us up".

"Yea, I'm sorry we woke you", Sara added. She hated getting nightmares, not only because they forced her to relive horrible experiences and ruined her good night's sleep, but also because it disrupted everyone else's sleep around her.

"Don't worry about it, birdie. It was the rain that woke me up. I can't wait to get off this damn boat", Slade said in an effort to assuage their guilt even if it really was the true reason for his current wakefulness.

"Don't we all. Oliver, I used up all the bandages they had on board, so you'll have to wait till we are on the plane before I can change them", Shado said concernedly because she could see that with the rainy weather they were currently in, his bandages were getting wet and beginning to fall off.

"It's okay Shado, it's not like any of us have ever not gone without them before, I'm fine", he replied trying to ease her worries. After that, Oliver and Sara both knew that they weren't going to be sleeping for the rest of the night, so the four of them sat quietly with the occasional quip between the two boys, waiting for the sun to rise and the view of Hong Kong to be within their sights.


	3. Chapter 3

Moira walked into the living room of her billion dollar mansion, her heels clacking against the fancy hard wood floor. It was night, she was just returning home from a charity gala that she was only invited to because of her ready to use check book. She had spent the last few hours mingling with other rich people bragging about their success as they held polite, diplomatic, and fake smiles on their faces. Although, she really wasn't one to judge since she was just like them. She stepped further into the room, smoothing down her knee length black dress, and leaned over to turn on the lamp to bring some light into the beautiful yet so dreary and lonely room. And that's when it happened. Her phone began to ring, so she reached for it on the end table beside her, pushed her blonde hair behind one ear, and answered the call just like she did every other. If only she knew that this was not going to be just like every other call.

"Hello", she asked politely in the same tone she used every time she answered the phone assuming it had something to do with some business at Queen Consolidated. Well that's odd, she thought. No one was there. She was tired and really didn't want to answer some junk mail or prank call so she waited a moment before repeating once more, "Hello, Who is this?", she asked not trying too hard to keep the sharp edge out of her tone.

"Mom, it's Oliver." Well, she was right this was a prank call and she didn't have time for this. Moira sucked in a deep breath at the mention of her dead son and replied pithily, "My son has been dead for five years. Please don't call here again." As she said this she turned to put the telephone back on its hook when the stranger continued their plea and she froze at the true desperation she could here in this man's voice.

"Mom- Mom please. Please just listen to the sound of my voice." This couldn't be. Could it? She pulled the phone away from her ear and stared down at it like it was some sort of mystery she just couldn't quite figure out. Deciding to give in to the small part of her that desperately wanted this to be true, she pulled the phone quickly back up to her ear and gave this guy a second a chance: whoever he may be.

"I did not die on the Gambit. I'm alive. I'm okay." She had to admit it sounded just like her Oliver. As she listened she moved towards the plush couch, each word convincing her more and more that this was actually happening. That her son might actually still be alive. Just the thought of this idea being a reality made her eyes begin to water.

But she just had to make sure. Had to confirm that this was really him. She breathed out a shaky breath as she asked, "Oliver, Oliver is that you?".

"Yea mom, it's me. Just please don't hang up, okay." Oh my God, it really was him, her baby boy, her Oliver. She sat down at the hit of sheer emotion and shock of the revelation that her son was still alive.

So many questions started to zoom through her head as she replied, "No. Oh no no no, I won't. Ohh my beautiful boy!", but the question that kept racing to the forefront of her mind was: Is Robert alive too? There is no way that Oliver has been by himself this whole time, right? If her son was still breathing than the chances of Robert still breathing had to be good. She needed to know. So she asked, "Is-is your father a-a-ali-ve?". Her voice stuttered on the last word as she began to cry.

There was a pause. That can't be a good sign. "No, uh h-he-e didn't make it, mom I'm sorry." At hearing Oliver confirm her husband's death more tears fell from her eyes. That small part of her that had always held onto hope that he may of survived was just crushed. But her son was alive. And one miracle was better than none.

"Ohh Oliver, sweetheart, I-I can't imagine what you've been through, where are you?", she sniffled as she spoke. She had to focus on her son right now. She lost her husband a long time ago, she had had five years to grieve his death, and now that her son was alive she felt like a large dark cloud was lifted out of her atmosphere.

She heard her son reply, "Um, I-I'm on a boat on my way to Hong Kong. Sara sh-she survived too and we've been on an island for the last five years. We met two other people there and well, the four of us are coming to Starling. I-I'm coming home, mom." Finally, her baby was coming home, she couldn't believe it. She began letting out cries of happiness. Then she realized, he had said Sara was alive too. This was great, the Lance family would finally be able to get the closure they needed just as much as the Queens. She was wrong about what she thought before, they didn't get one miracle, they got two. Then she heard her son repeat, "I'm coming home", and the truth of it all solidified in her as she listened to the sweet and very alive voice of her son.

She continued to shed tears of joy as she cried, "I love you! Oh Oliver, I love you so much!".

"I love you too, mom", oh boy did it feel good to hear those words come out of his mouth. "Alright mom, I-I have to go, okay. I-I'm sorry but I'll see you real soon, I love you." What? She just said hello, and now she already had to say goodbye! She didn't want to hang up, what if she went to bed and found out this was all a dream, that her son wasn't actually alive? She wanted to stay on the phone with him till the second she could see him face to face.

But, she knew that she couldn't do that so she replied reluctantly, "O-okay my son. I'll be here waiting for you, I love you too." And with that, he had ended the call. She put down the phone and just sat there for a moment. What did she do now? She had to tell Thea, she had to call Detective Lance. Unless Sara had already done that, if Oliver could call her than Sara probably already called her family too. Although her first priority was telling Thea. How does she tell her daughter that her father is dead and her brother is alive after five years of believing them both to be gone? Moira stayed sitting in the dark living room beside the bright lamp as she tried to plan how to break the news to her daughter.

* * *

Thea stumbled out of the taxi cab, down the long gravel driveway, and into the mansion that looked like a medieval castle. She didn't bother trying to sneak through the house because she didn't care if her mother caught her coming in at the early hours of the morning half drunk. It's not like she would get in any trouble for it anyway, maybe a short meaningless lecture, but that was it. She passed by the living room on her way up to her bedroom. Well that was weird, the light was still on. Her mom never stayed up this late. Thea stopped to peak into the room only to be surprised that her mother was still up. The fact that she was still up was odd but what suddenly made Thea concerned was the far off look on her mother's face as if she was in deep thought.

As she walked up to her mother she asked accusingly, "Why are you still awake?".

Moira lifted her head and saw her daughter wobbling in slightly drunk. "Thea Dearden Queen, where have you been? I have been waiting hours for you to come home."

"Since when do you care?", Thea sassed back like any typical seventeen year old.

Moira looked personally offended at her daughter's comment and replied back, "I've always cared about you Thea, your my baby girl. And I have something important I want to talk to you about so I would have appreciated it if you bothered to answer the phone when I called instead of getting wasted with those friends of yours who I told you were a bad influence", Moira said in her strict motherly tone.

"That is hilarious. You haven't tried to talk to me unless it was about the people I choose to hang out with in five years so save me a lecture, I'm going to bed", Thea talked back to her mother and then turned around to head upstairs.

"Thea wait! Look, your right I'm sorry. I know I haven't always been there for you but I really do have something I need to speak with you about", she called back at her daughter hoping she for once would listen.

Thea turned around sharply and yelled, "What! What could possibly be so important?".

"Please, come sit next to me", Moira tried to ask nicely.

But Thea preferred to be difficult, "No, whatever you have to say just say it so I can go to sleep already."

This really wasn't how Moira wanted to tell her daughter about Oliver, her brother, still being alive but Thea gave her no other choice. "Alright well Thea, your brother he's-he's alive." As she said this she stood to be closer to her daughter and looked her straight in the eyes.

Thea really was in no mood to have a chat with her mother at the moment so when she heard what she actually had to say, she was in shock. She had a million questions racing through her head but all that came out was, "What?".

"Oliver, he called me a few hours ago and told me that he and Sara had survived the Gambit. Listen The-", Moira told her daughter before she was cut off.

"I knew it! I told you they didn't die! I can't believe I was right! Wait- you didn't mention dad's name, H-he didn't make it did he?", Thea asked sadly already knowing the answer but not wanting to let go of the hope she's held onto for the past five years.

Moira looked at her with sad eyes as she shook her head no and enveloped her daughter in a warm hug. Surprisingly, Thea didn't push her away but openly accepted the affection from her mother. Once they separated Thea finally let loose some of the questions that had been racing through her mind, "So, where has he been all this time? Why wait so long to call us? Did he tell you where he is? Is he okay? What happened to him? Are you one hundred percent sure it was actually Ollie and not some prank call?". The questions came out one after the other so fast that Moira had a hard time hearing them all but she tried her best to answer them with the little information she had.

"Oliver told me that he and Sara had been on an island with two other people for the past five years. I'm assuming that this was the first time he's been able to call us. When we spoke he said he was on a boat to Hong Kong and would be flying back to Starling. It wasn't a prank call Thea, I-I almost hung up on him, my own son, b-because I thought he was lying but it was him. I know it was. I don't know what he has been through, all I know is that our Oliver is coming home."

"Oh my God, this is really happening! When is he going to be here?", Thea asked excitedly.

"Well, probably within a day or so, a flight from China is quite long. Speaking of which I should probably talk to Detective Lance about that", Moira replied.

"Okay, well I guess I'll go get some sleep. Uh, Goodnight Mom."

"Yes, we have a big day ahead of us, Thea. Good Night." She said to her daughter before heading off to her own room. She would call Detective Lance later since he probably wasn't up at this hour anyway.

* * *

Tommy stepped out of the shiny black limo, waved goodbye to his hired driver, and pranced down the Queen's driveway to knock on the large mahogany door.

"Mr. Merlyn! Thea is upstairs in her room", the kind maid, Raisa, said happily as she opened the door for Tommy to come inside.

"Thank you very much Raisa. You are looking very nice today," Tommy replied cheekily to the caring lady that had known him for most of his life.

"Oh stop it, your too funny Mr. Merlyn. Would you like me to bring you and Thea some snacks?".

"No, no but thank you Raisa." Tommy headed upstairs and knocked on Thea's bedroom door, "Speedy! You up?", he called out from the hallway.

"Tommy!", Thea yelled excitedly as she swung open her bedroom door.

"Wow, someone's happy today, did I miss something?", Tommy asked curiously as he walked into the large room that clearly looked like it belonged to a rich teenage girl.

"Tommy, you are not going to believe what I'm about to tell you!", Thea said jumping up and down excitedly with a large grin across her petite face.

"Well spit it out Speedy, I can't take all this suspense!", Tommy decided to play along even though he knew it was probably something about a super cute dress she found online or some concert tickets she managed to score.

"Okay, I'll just say it. Ollie's Alive!". Thea watched Tommy's facial features as he took the news. First she saw a frown of denial and she was about to reassure him when a large smile with sparkling white teeth and all lit up his face. Well, that was a lot easier than she expected, he didn't need any convincing at all. She was waiting for him to say something but before she knew it she was bombarded with a giant hug and the scent of his smelly cologne. Then he just started laughing out of pure happiness and it was very contagious. The two of them stood their for a few moments just smiling and laughing like it was the best day of their lives. Like the sun had finally peered out from behind the dark clouds that had been keeping all of them in the darkness for the last five years.

When Thea pulled away from Tommy she said, "And that's not all, Sara she survived too, they're both coming home Tommy!"

"Oh my God, this is the best day of my life! Where are they now, when are they coming home?", Tommy asked earnestly.

"Um, I don't know. Last night mom talked to him on the phone and said that he was on his way to Hong Kong by boat with some other people because they had spent the last five years stranded on an island. Probably by tomorrow, I think", Thea replied, explaining what had happened to Tommy, her basically brother, since he had been around her whole life. When Oliver first was thought dead, he stopped coming by for a while but then one day he came over, dragged her out of bed, and took her out to lunch. They had been spending time together ever since.

"This, this is amazing! Well, you know what this calls for Speedy?"

"A party?", Thea asked amused because she already knew the answer.

"A Party!", Tommy yelled happily. "But, we should wait for them to come home before we celebrate. Right now I think the two of us are due for some Big Belly Burger", he said remembering what he had originally come over to the Queen's for.

"Alright, let's do it, but I'm warning you I think your starting to grow a big belly", Thea said teasingly as she stared down at his stomach.

Tommy looked down at his admittedly too soft tummy and then lifted his head to look back at Thea pretending to be offended, "Your dreaming, Speedy. This is all abs and muscle."

"Yea right", she scoffed sarcastically and then poked his belly to prove it.

"Oh that's how you want to play it. I'm going to get you!", he said playfully. He watched as Thea ran out to the limo laughing and he hurried up after her yelling, "Yea that's right you better run, Speedy!"

* * *

Quentin Lance was returning home to his messy apartment after a late shift at the precinct. He walked into his small living room and plopped down tiredly onto the leather couch. He reached over to turn the lamp on the side table on, bringing some light into the dark and dreary apartment. And that's when it happened. His cell phone began to ring and he thought _come on_ , he just left work. Reluctantly Lance lifted the phone to his ear, ran a hand through his messy dark hair, and said, "a'yello, Detective Lance speaking".

A second later he heard a familiar voice say, "Daddy, it's Sara". You've got to be kidding me, he thought. He didn't feel like answering no prank calls right now. He wanted to go to sleep or maybe have a drink. Yea, that would be good right about now.

"Wha-, look whatever punk is trying to play some evil prank, you should know I'm a detective and-", and he was about to tell this stupid kid how he was capable of hunting him down and throwing him in a jail cell before he was cut off.

"Daddy, no wait please, It's really me. It's Sara, come on you have to believe me!", he heard the voice beg desperately. A voice that he had to admit sounded just like Sara. Oh God, he must be hallucinating or maybe he was dreaming.

"Oh God, I must be drunk. So drunk I don't even remember drinking. This isn't real Quentin. Your daughter is dead." He repeated that mantra over and over in his head trying to wake him up from this cruel nightmare.

"What?! No daddy I can prove this is real. Okay, uh remember when I was ten and you brought me home a bird that ended up driving everyone else in the house crazy, it was a Canary, you remember?", the girl asked.

This couldn't be. But how would some punk kid know that? And it sounded _just_ like her. "Sara? Sara, oh my baby girl is that you?", he had to ask, he had to make sure that this dream was actually happening.

"Yea, Daddy it's really me. No tricks I promise", Sara said reassuringly to her father.

It was her. It was really his little girl. But now he had so many questions racing through his head, "But, h-how is this possible? Where are you honey? Are you okay? Are you safe? What happened?", he asked question after question sounding like a speed round of trivia.

"Uh yea, yea daddy I'm safe", Lance let out a breath of relief and listened closely as she attempted to answer all of his questions, "I survived the Gambit and have been stranded on an island called Lian Yu for the last five years. I'm currently on a boat in what I think is the um, North China Sea. We are going to be in Hong Kong in a few hours, I think. I'm coming home daddy."

Hearing his sweet baby girl say those words after not being able to hear her voice for so long was like a true miracle. He felt like the luckiest father in the whole wide world because his baby was alive and she was coming home. "Oh my God, my baby girl is coming home. This is-", wait and then the other thing she told him clicked in his mind, "did you say "we" honey?"

"Yea, daddy I did. Uh, Oliver he's uh with me, he survived the Gambit too. Also we met two other people who were also stranded on the island. The four of us are all coming to Starling City together", Sara replied.

Oh man, of course Queen was alive too. How could he forget about the punk who broke Laurel, his daughter's, heart. He couldn't be mad at the kid for surviving though. After all, no matter how much he disliked the Queen family they deserved to get their family back too. He responded to his daughter saying, "Alright, well uh, I can arrange a private flight for the four of you in Hong Kong to Starling. I'm sure the Queens would love to pay for it. I'm just so glad that your alive my baby girl."

"Thanks daddy, well I um have to go. Oliver still has to call his mom."

Why was that damn kid always taking his daughter away from him? He didn't want to say goodbye, he wanted to talk to her forever and never let her go again. Reluctantly he decided to keep those thoughts to himself and answered, "Right um, okay I love you Sara and your mother, sister, and I will all be waiting for you the second you get home okay."

"Okay Daddy I love you too", he heard his daughter cry.

That is what nearly made him break down into tears, but he tried his best to say goodbye without his voice cracking, "Bye, my sweet baby girl." As soon as he heard her hang up Lance let out a series of sobs. He wasn't sad, he was just so unbelievably happy that he could barely fathom the fact that this was all real, that he wasn't living in some fantasy world, but in reality. There was no way he was going to sleep now he thought as he stood up and ran another hand through his even messier hair because he had been tugging on it during the whole phone call.

He had so much to do. He had to tell his daughter and his ex-wife the news. Oh man, how is he going to explain his divorce to Sara? Oh well, he'll burn that bridge when it comes to it. He also unfortunately had to speak with Moira about arranging their transportation home. Although, from what Sara said she was probably on the phone with her long lost son right now. With a new goal in mind, he grabbed his leather jacket and walked out the door, headed for Laurel's apartment.

* * *

Laurel was sitting on her beige suede couch with a pile of CNRI files on her lap and a cup of coffee in her hand. This was a typical night for her. She liked to get lost in her work and dedicate all of her focus to a case. Laurel took great pride in her work as a lawyer for the people of the Glades. She was giving a voice to the people who couldn't speak out for themselves. She was currently reading through the evidence trying to come up with her counter argument when all of the sudden there was a loud knocking on her apartment door. She looked up surprised and concerned because no one usually came by at this late hour, unless maybe it was Tommy. She rose up off the couch and cautiously moved towards the door looking to the drawer that held her gun just in case she needed it. When she peered through the small peep hole though a wave of relief passed over her. It was just her father.

She opened the door and asked, "Dad, what's wrong? Why are you here, I thought you had a late shift tonight?" She looked him over and he didn't seem completely wasted so that was a good sign, so why was here so late, she thought to herself.

"Well, let's go inside shall we, I have something I need to tell you", Lance replied eagerly.

"Oh, okay then. What's with the sudden good mood?", She hadn't seen her father this happy since the last dinner her family had eaten together as a whole with Sara and her mother.

"Well, I have really great news Laurel!"

"What s it?", she asked almost concernedly by her dad's excitement.

"Okay, I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this but-", he paused unsure of how to continue.

"Just say it dad", she interrupted trying to get him to just spit it out already.

"Okay here goes nothing, Laurel-", he said while looking at her straight in the eyes, "Your sister Sara, she's alive."

Laurel heard what her dad had said but she didn't say anything. She just stared up at her father in complete shock. Tears began to fill up her light blue eyes as she wondered how this was even possible. Sara couldn't have been alive after all these years. After all the sadness and anger she had felt towards her for the last five years. How could she possibly be alive? With all these thoughts running through her head she managed to get out one word, "H-how?".

"I don't know love bug. She called me from a boat and said that she was on her way home. But it was really her, I promise. Trust me I was wary at first but it really is our Sara", he tried to tell his daughter comfortingly.

Oh my God, this was really happening. She needed to know everything. She had so many questions. "Where is she now? Where has she been? Why wait so long to let us now she's alive? Wait- did anyone else survive the Gambit?" She honestly didn't know what answer she was hoping for to that last question. She didn't know if she wanted Oliver to be alive or not. He had caused her so much pain and she had spent the last five years hating him for it, happy that he was dead. But now that Sara was alive, well this changed everything.

Her father answered, "Oliver, he-he survived too Laurel." He wasn't sure how his daughter was going to take the news so he watched her reaction closely.

"Oh my God", she threw her hands up to her face, covering her mouth as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"I know this is a lot to take in Laurel. It's okay", he spoke softly to his daughter as he put his hands on her shoulders.

"Are they okay? Where are they?", she asked again , now having even more questions than before.

"She said that they were stranded on an island for the past five years where they met two other castaways. The four of them are on a boat to Hong Kong, where they will then take a plane to Starling City."

"Four of them? Did she tell you who these other people are?"

"Nope, that's all she told me. What are feeling right now Laurel?"

"I don't know. I know I should be happy and I am. I am so happy that Sara is alive", she finished with a genuine smile on her face.

"Look, I understand if your still angry at Queen and you have every right to be, hell I am too. But, we don't know what they've been through and how much they've changed, so maybe we should give him the chance to show us. Alright you think about that."

"Okay. Have you told mom yet?", she asked trying to pull the conversation away from her ex-boyfriend.

"No, no I guess I should call her now. There's no time to drive all the way to Central City." Lance looked down at his daughter, reluctant to leave her after the bomb he just dropped on her.

Noticing his hesitance to leave she replied reassuringly, "It's alright dad. I'll be okay, I just need some time to think alone."

Lance leaned in to give his daughter a big hug and then replied, "Alright my baby. You call me if you need anything, okay. I love you."

"I love you too dad", she smiled back. She watched her father walk out of her apartment and wave goodbye. Then she went back over to her previous spot on the couch and sat down. She had dreamed about this moment for five years. With the thought of her sister still being alive a large and happy smile crossed her face. She just wasn't sure how she felt about Oliver. Sure, she should be happy he's alive, it would be cruel to wish him dead. Although she still held so much anger and resentment towards him, she would just have to wait and see what the future brings.

Lance walked out of his daughter's apartment building and towards his car. Now he just had to call his ex-wife, that wouldn't be an awkward phone call at all, and then speak with Moira. Boy was he looking at a great night ahead of him he thought sarcastically.

* * *

The four of them sat close to each other, each in their own window seat so that they could watch as they lifted up off the ground, flying away from their troubled past and into the unknown future. As Oliver watched the ground blur by beneath them he thought, this is it _I'm going home._ The last five years of his life were finally over but little did he know that this was just the beginning.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you to all of you who have reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! It makes me excited to keep writing, so I hope all of you are enjoying it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow._**

* * *

 _"Oliver Queen is alive. The Starling City resident was found by fishermen in the North China Sea five days ago, five years after he was missing and presumed dead following the accident at sea which claimed "The Queen's Gambit". Queen was a regular tabloid presence and a fixture at the Starling City club scene. Shortly before his disappearance, he was acquitted of assault charges stemming from a highly publicized drunken altercation with paparazzi. Queen is the son of Starling City billionaire Robert Queen, who was also on board but now officially confirmed as deceased."_ The story of Oliver's return home was repeatedly broadcasted on the WEBG Starling City channel seven news.

"So you weren't lying when you said you were rich and famous were ya kid", Slade observed as he watched the news from the TV above his hospital bed. The four of them had been brought straight to the hospital as soon as they stepped off the plane. They were all put into one large room with four beds, one for each of them, because they refused to be separated. One look at the four castaways standing extremely close and almost protectively near each other, and well the nurses didn't argue.

"Did you think I was lying?", Oliver asked nonchalantly from his hospital bed on the left of Slade's, closest to the sunlight filled window. The four of them were all currently laying down with Sara across from Oliver, and Shado from Slade. They had been in and out of tests and x-rays ever since they arrived but finally they were all relaxing.

"Sorry, it's hard to believe your someone tons of fangirls would want to fawn over", Slade replied teasingly.

Sara entered the conversation, "Actually Slade, Ollie was quite the ladies man back then."

"I'm not that person anymore", Oliver added seriously. He was ashamed of the way he used to treat people, and he knew that that wasn't who he was anymore; even if that's who everyone still expected him to be.

"Don't worry Oliver, I have watched you change a lot since we first met, for the better", Shado said kindly.

Oliver looked over at Shado with a small smile on his face and nodded, thanking her for her nice words. Then he got up out of the hospital bed and moved to stand in front of the ceiling to floor length windows looking out over Starling City. He just stood their and stared out over his city, the place he grew up in, his home. Five years ago, his father had died to save him and now he was finally planning to honor that sacrifice. Soon it wouldn't be Oliver Queen watching over the city, it would be The Arrow protecting it. Sara, Slade, and Shado all knew of his plans to help the city and they intended on doing it with him as The Canary, The Sword, and The Hood.

The others all moved to stand next to him, tired of laying in one spot too long, and Sara asked, "So Ollie, do you know where you want to set up our vigilante cave because I don't think we'll be able to do it out of the Queen mansion."

"I have a location in mind, I just have to make sure it's available", he replied looking down to Sara. Then the four of them heard footsteps coming down the hallway with their heightened senses and all moved to stand almost like they were ready for a battle facing the door. Then Oliver realized, these weren't just any footsteps, they were heels clacking down the tiled floors of the hospital hallway. He also heard a set of flat shoes taking long strides and knew it had to be his mother and Detective Lance. As they approached closer to the room, all four of them listened to the conversation occurring between their parents and the doctor.

"I want to see my baby girl, how is she?", asked an anxious Lance as he stood outside the hospital room door. He couldn't believe he was so close to seeing his Sara. He was about to push down this doctor if he didn't let him in soon.

"Yes, yes. How is my son? Can we see them now?", Moira asked nervously, preparing herself for finally seeing her son after five years apart.

"Well, we did some standard tests and well I haven't seen this much damage since I treated a war veteran."

"What do you mean?", Moira asked concernedly.

"You sayin' they're hurt real bad?", Lance asked the doctor who was not doing anything to ease his nerves.

"You should know, twenty percent of Oliver's body is covered in scar tissue. His back is covered in second degree burns that looks like he got pretty recently. Also, the x-rays show he has twelve fractures that never properly healed."

Moira threw her hands up to her face and let a tear fall, "Oh my baby boy!".

"Wh-what about Sara, is she okay?", Lance asked, nervous to hear the answer because of how bad Queen apparently was.

"Sara is not much better. Her body is covered in about thirteen percent scar tissue and at least ten fractures that haven't healed properly. Unfortunately, she was the best off compared to her other two companions. They too, have a multitude of scars and injuries that never completely healed."

"Oh my poor little girl", Lance replied sadly.

"Have they said anything about what happened?", Moira asked curiously.

"No, they haven't talked much unless it was to speak to each other." Lance and Moira both looked at the door eagerly waiting to see their children when the doctor said one last thing, "Mrs. Queen, Detective Lance, I'd like you to prepare yourselves. The children you lost might not be the ones they found."

Slade listened to his friend's parents speak outside the room and thought, _well this is about to get awkward._

The two parents nodded appreciatively and then Moira entered the room with Lance only a close step behind. Slade and Shado moved out of the way to give the two reuniting families some space. They were both extremely happy for their friends but Shado was admittedly a little jealous because it reminded her of her father, and she just wished that he was with her now too.

"Oliver?", Moira asked softly. This was it. She was finally going to get to wrap her son in a big warm hug.

Oliver walked slowly towards his mother as he took in the sight of her. She looked just like he remembered. "Mom", he acknowledged emotionally with a slight tilt to his head and water in his blue eyes.

"Oh, my beautiful boy!", Moira cried as she stood on her tiptoes to reach her arms around her son's neck and place a lovingly kiss below his ear. They stood like that for a few moments while Sara reunited with her father.

"Sara!", Lance called like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The sight of her golden blonde hair and crystal blue eyes spurred him on as he raced to reach his daughter.

"Daddy", Sara said softly as tears fell down her cheeks.

Lance wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head underneath his chin, holding her in a tight hug, not willing to ever let her go again. "Oh my baby girl, I missed you so much. I love you", he cried into her hair.

"I missed you too daddy. I love you so much!", Sara replied into her father's shoulder. It felt so good to be enveloped in her daddy's arms. She felt safe, she felt like she was finally home. She pulled her arms tight around him, not wanting to ever loose this feeling.

When they all pulled apart Sara gestured over to Slade and Shado and introduced them to her father, "Daddy, these are the two people Ollie and I met on the island. That's Slade Wilson and that's Shado Fei. They helped us to survive for the past five years. We wouldn't have made it without them."

Shado was very touched by Sara's words. These three people that she had come to know the past five years had become her family. And out of all the people in the world, she only cared about what they thought of her. So knowing how appreciative Sara was of their friendship meant a lot, especially since they were the only family she had. She could see by the slight slant of Slade's mouth and brown eyes that were secretly filled with emotion that he was also touched by her words so she teased, "Careful Sara, you might make Slade blush."

Slade looked personally offended by Shado's remark like such an action was preposterous so he replied, "I don't blush." This caused all four of the friends to let out a small laugh.

Lance watched the four of them interact and could tell that they were all very close. How could they not be after all they must have been through together. He looked at this small and thin Chinese girl alongside this giant burly Australian and thought _well the four of them sure make an odd group._ But hey, if these were the two people that kept his daughter alive and brought her home to him, than they might as well be family.

"It's nice to meet you Detective Lance", Slade and Shado both said as they shook his hand.

"Well, I have to thank you for keeping my baby safe and bringing her home to me", replied Lance with a grateful smile on his face.

"Daddy, everything I said about them includes Oliver too. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have made it home either", Sara injected trying to repair the relationship between the Queen and Lance families.

Lance had quite a few things in mind he wanted to say in response to his daughter's claim, but he didn't want to argue after just getting her back. So he begrudgingly looked to Queen and said, "I'm uh glad your not dead." Okay, so maybe he could have come up with something a little nicer but that was all he had for now.

Oliver appreciated Sara's attempt at helping her family forgive him for his mistakes, but he knew that that was gong to take time. So he put out his hand to Lance and said, "I'll take what I can get, Detective." Surprisingly Lance took his offered hand and gave it a firm shake. For now, that was the best of a peace offering as they were going to get.

Moira knew that her and the Lance family's relationship was shaky so she wasn't surprised by the comments made between her son and the detective. Oliver then introduced her to his friends and she shook their hands as well. She was glad that her son had people that took care of him the past five years because she knew there was no possible way the Ollie she knew would ever have survived on a stranded island alone. She then said, "I think it's time we get out of this hospital, don't you think Oliver. Slade, Shado, and Sara there is plenty of room for all of you at the mansion if you wish to stay."

"Thank you for your offer Moira, but I'm going to be staying with my my family", Sara replied regretfully. This was the moment she had been dreading, leaving her friends, her family. Reluctantly she gave them each a tight hug and said her goodbyes.

"You call if you need anything alright Sara", Oliver told her.

"I know, Ollie. Don't worry about me I'll be okay". She replied reassuringly.

Moira could tell that this was hard for her son so she asked, "Detective Lance, Sara, you and your family are more than welcome to join us for dinner later."

"That's a great idea! Please come daddy", Sara said happily, glad that she was going to see them again later. It made saying goodbye a little easier and for that she was thankful for Moira's consideration.

"Of course Sara, I'll be there", Lance responded. How could he say no to her after all?

"Yay! Thank you! Alright well I'll see you guys later okay", Sara said waving goodbye to her fellow castaways. And with that her and Lance left, with the rest off them following close behind out to the parking lot.

Moira had a limo waiting outside at the hospital ready to take them home. She climbed in first and Oliver let Slade and Shado go in before him. He was aware that this was probably both of their first times in one of these before so he was looking forward to watching their faces as they took in their surroundings.

Shado stepped into the shiny black limo, following Moira, and she couldn't stop the excited smile from leaving her face as she sat on one of the fancy leather seats. She was like a little kid looking around in wonderment. "This is so nice! You could live in one of these things! They have everything, food, drinks, what else could you possibly need?", she said as she explored the inside of the limo.

Slade climbed into the limo and had to say it was pretty nice; even if he was perfectly fine with taking a plain old car. I guess when your rich there's no point in not driving one of these things, he thought. One thing he did like about it was that they were completely isolated from the world around them. No one could look in, it was quiet and private. He decided to sit beside Shado and was amused by how excited she was.

"I take it, neither of you have rode in one of these before", Moira said bemusedly as Oliver climbed into the limo.

"Yea, it's our first time", replied Shado.

"Wait till you see the mansion", added Oliver, excited to prove to Slade that he really was rich.

"Can't wait kid. It's my dream come true", Slade replied sarcastically with a teasing smile on his face.

"Well I think the two of you will find to like your new home, and I will try to help all of you adjust to being back as much as I can", Moira told them kindly.

The three of them all thought back to what they had considered home for the past five years, and even though they weren't there the whole time, the island still felt like home to them. This was going to be a big change that took some time getting used to.

The limo pulled up into the Queen's long gravel driveway and Oliver said, "We're here."

He stepped out of the limo and waited for his two companions to follow. As Slade and Shado exited the fancy vehicle and looked up at what could only be refereed to as "the mansion", their jaws dropped.

Slade was truly shocked at what he was looking at. And that didn't happen too often. Sure, he knew the kid had money, but this-this was just like what Sara had said, "a castle".

Shado had had a nice life in China before she was abducted and brought to Lian Yu but she had never seen anything like this before in her life. She couldn't believe this was going to be her new home. Once she realized her mouth was gaping open like a fish she snapped it shut and started smiling giddily and bouncing on her feet, excited to see what the inside looked like.

"You believe me now Slade?", Oliver asked with a prideful smile on his face.

"Now I know why you whined so much when you first got to the island", Slade responded, refusing to admit out loud that the kid proved him wrong.

"Hey, I thought we talked about this. I wasn't like that", Oliver said with a humorous smile.

Shado added teasingly, "and we all agreed you did, remember?."

Oliver replied fake seriously, "No, I don't recall."

Moira interrupted their friendly banter by saying, "Alright, well let's go inside. Oliver you have a few people who are anxious to see you."

Oliver smiled brightly at the thought of finally seeing Thea, his sister, again. Although before he continued, he went to take his wooden suitcase from the island with Chinese letters printed on it out of the trunk. The driver offered to bring it in for him, but he insisted on carrying it himself. The things inside of it were too important to let anyone else hold. Slade and Shado also each had a bag of belongings that they carried inside with them.

Moira watched the three enter the mansion and couldn't help but wonder how they could return from a deserted island with luggage. She was positive Oliver didn't bring that old dirty suitcase with him on the Gambit, so where could it have really come from?

Deciding to burry her curiosity she said, "Your room is exactly how you left it, Oliver. I never had the heart to change anything." As they entered, Slade and Shado allowed theirs eyes to explore and take note of their new environment.

A dark skinned and bald man entered the room and said in a British accent, "Oliver, it's damn good to see you."

Looking at Oliver's blank face he said, "It's Walter, Walter Steele." With still no facial expression Moira tried to spark his memory by telling him the man was a friend of his father.

Oliver shook the man's offered hand but carefully showed no emotion when greeting him. He knew exactly who this guy was, he took his father's place in the family, in the company, and supposedly now in his life. He would be civil for the sake of his family, but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it. So he continued on to greet Raisa, he had missed her.

Slade noticed the tension between Oliver and this man named Walter. He couldn't say he blamed him, he understood how the kid was feeling but he didn't want to make a bad first impression so he greeted the man politely. That didn't mean he didn't make sure to give the man's hand a strong shake to almost convey the unsaid words of his loyalty to Oliver.

"It's a pleasure to meet you", Shado said to Walter, and then Raisa. She knew that it was important to be polite since she was going to be living with these people from now on. They both seemed like nice people to her, but she knew Oliver just didn't care for the idea of someone replacing his father. That would be another change he was going to have to get used to.

Then the sound of a door closing and feet running towards the stairs could be heard. Oliver moved to stand in front of the tall staircase and looked up to see his sister. He couldn't believe how beautiful and grown up she appeared. She had changed so much since he left for the Gambit and now he could finally reunite with one of the people he cared about most in this world.

"Hey sis", he said with a genuine smile.

Thea saw her brother, and he looked so different. He had a different haircut for one thing. She wasn't sure what else was different about him but she could tell that he had changed. She was so happy to see him that she rushed down the stairs and threw herself into his arms. He apparently had gotten a lot stronger too. She wrapped her arms around his middle section and squeezed as hard as she could, she was just so glad to finally have him back.

"I knew it! I knew you were alive! I missed you so much!", Thea told him lovingly.

"You were with me the whole time", Oliver replied emotionally to his little sister. Although he had to hold in a grunt f pain from escaping his mouth as Thea put a lot of pressure on the burns on his back. He could feel the hospital bandages rubbing against his sensitive skin, but he wouldn't let her see him in pain so he held on to her just as tight, trying to convey just how much he had missed her.

"That's got to hurt", Shado whispered to Slade as they watched the sibling reunion.

"No kidding. Hey maybe you should whip up some of that puke smelling concoction you put on my face burns. I'm sure the kid would love that", Slade replied sarcastically.

"Haha, very funny. I think the stuff from the hospital will do just fine."

"Whatever you say, Doctor Shado." Slade then said loud enough for everyone to hear, "So, Mrs. Queen, if you wouldn't mind having someone show us to our rooms, that would be much appreciated." He would have let the two siblings continue their hug but he could tell the kid was hurting so it was time to move things along.

Lance brought Sara to Laurel's apartment because they had agreed that she would stay there since her sister's apartment was the largest. Although, Sara was really nervous. She was afraid of how her sister would react to her being home, but if she was allowing her to live with her than it wouldn't be that bad, right? Her father brought her up to the apartment door and knocked. This was it, the moment she had been thinking about for the past five years. She let her father lead her inside and in the cozy living room she could see two brunettes, her mom and sister, standing and waiting with teary eyed smiles.

Her mother ran up to her first, "Oh my baby! I knew you were alive, I just could feel it in my bones!" She wrapped her daughter in a giant hug and then looked down at her face just admiring the sight of her daughter. "Oh, I've missed you so much! Look how beautiful you are! I love you!", she said happily.

Sara was so happy to finally be reunited with her mother. It made her feel like she was their little girl again, before her life spiraled into a disaster. "Mom, I missed you too, I love you!", she said as she buried herself into her mother's arms.

When her mother finally let go Laurel walked up to her with a surprisingly big and genuine smile on her face. Sara said timidly, "Look Laurel-", but she was cut off by the sudden hug Laurel enveloped her in.

"Don't okay, I missed you and that's all that matters", she said lovingly to her little sister.

"I missed you too", Sara let out so relieved that Laurel didn't hate her. But just to make sure this wasn't just some dream she asked, "So your not mad at me?".

Laurel replied reassuringly, "No, okay it wasn't your fault."

She couldn't help but notice how Laurel said _your fault_ , meaning she probably blamed Oliver. Although she decided to wait till later to bring it up, not wanting to ruin the current moment.

"Now you are going to be staying here with me and we are going to have so much fun! Oh and Dad will be staying a couple days too."

That made her confused, why wasn't her mom staying too? "What about mom?", she asked.

The three of them all looked at each other not sure how to break the news to her that their family wasn't a complete white picket fence kind of family anymore.

Luckily for Lance and Laurel, Dinah, Sara's mother, explained, "Honey, your father and I, we got divorced. I'm living in Central City now. I have to get back to work but you know you can still call me or come visit whenever you want okay."

She had not been expecting that. For the past five years she had been dreaming about being a family again and now she was being told that that was never going to happen. Although she didn't want them to see her disappointment so she threw on a fake smile and nodded, "Oh okay."

All four of the former castaways were going to have to adapt to their new environment and the changes that had occurred in their families while they were gone. Starling City was not the same as how they had left it five years ago, but they were going to make sure that they made it better.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for all the nice reviews! They put a giant smile on my face. And thank you to all the people who have favorited and followed the story, I hope you are enjoying it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow.**

* * *

Shado let her eyes wander around her as Thea and Moira led them to the guest rooms upstairs. She was in awe of the beautiful mansion. They walked down a carpeted hallway with walls half paneled in medium colored wood and decorated with many expensive pieces of fancy art.

"You have a lovely home, Mrs. Queen", Shado commented politely.

"Well, it's your home now, and please you can call me Moira", Oliver's mother replied kindly.

Thea added excitedly, "It is going to be so much fun having you all here!" She was very happy to have Oliver's new friends staying with them, it would make the mansion feel less empty and lonely. They passed by her room on the way to Shado and Slade's new rooms. Shado ended up having a bedroom between Oliver's and Thea's whereas Slade chose the one at the end of the hall next to Oliver.

When Shado walked in she couldn't believe what she was seeing, "Oh wow, this room is about the size of the entire apartment I had in China."

"Well, I hope you all find that these rooms suit your needs and if there is anything else don't be afraid to ask Raisa", Moira replied.

"Thank you for you generosity, Moira", Shado said gratefully.

Thea responded, "There's no need to thank us, you guys are like part of the family now!"

"Haha, well thank you Thea, that is very kind of you." Shado really did appreciate Thea's welcoming words. Family meant a lot to her. After they were given a small tour of the mansion the three castaways all went back to their rooms to put away their belongings and take a much needed shower.

Oliver looked around his old room and thought _well, mom wasn't kidding when she said they didn't change anything._ It was still the same gray walls adorned with stone arches and a large bay window. There was a tall and very full bookcase filled with books he never actually read against the same wall as the queen sized bed. He decided to leave his suitcase underneath the bed for now, this way there was less of a chance of Raisa finding it when she tidied up his room. He then entered the large luxurious bathroom and for what felt like the first time in a long time took a nice hot shower. Before the island he took for granted simple things like this, but after living five years without it and well he almost had forgotten how much he had missed it. When he came out with a towel around his waist he walked over to the tall fancy mirror and looked at all the scars he had acquired throughout the last five years. This was who he had become, he could barely recognize the Ollie Queen he used to be. As he looked at himself, memories flashed through his mind.

 _The stabbing pain of an arrow piercing through his shoulder, the slice of a sharp knife through his skin as Billy Wintergreen tortured him, Ivo's captain shooting him through the bars of his rusty cell, a gun pointed at Shado and Sara's heads, Slade barreling Ivo to the ground and saving him from ever having to make such an impossible decision, the freighter blowing up into flames while the four of them were still trapped inside, waking up in an unfamiliar apartment in Hong Kong, Waller sending each of them on different insane missions, him and Slade parachuting out of an ARGUS plane and down onto Lian Yu, the feel of shark teeth sinking into his hip, the spark of electricty coursing through his body, reuniting with Sara and Shado in Russia, joining the Bratva, all of them training with Talia al Ghul, going back to the island from hell, going home._

Snapping back into the present, Oliver quickly put on some of his old clothes and went down stairs looking for his friends. When he got downstairs he paused to look at a picture frame holding a photo of his father. He will honor his father's sacrifice, he hadn't survived this long to stop now. As he reminisced about his father, there was a loud knock on the door. Slade and Shado entered the room as he went over to open it. A large and genuine smile took over his face when he saw who it was.

"What did I tell you, yachts suck", Tommy said comically just as happy to see his long lost best friend.

Oliver chuckled and replied happily, "Tommy Merlyn, I missed you buddy."

Tommy had believed the news when Thea told him, but seeing Oliver in person took it to a whole new level. He finally had his best friend back and he felt like the luckiest person in the world. Then he noticed a good looking Chinese girl and a scary looking dude standing off to the side so he asked jokingly, "Who's the new entourage?"

"Tommy, these are the friends I met on the island. Shado Fei, Slade Wilson, meet Tommy Merlyn." He honestly didn't know what he was expecting Tommy to say but his next words definitely made him laugh.

"Wait, Ollie you were stranded on an island and you made friends with a guy named Wilson, that is hilarious!"

At that comment Oliver and Shado burst out laughing. Slade had an annoyed look on his face as he muttered, "Oh God, there are two of them." At the chuckles from both Shado and Oliver he couldn't help but let an amused smirk cross his face.

Tommy was confused by that comment, he hoped he didn't offend the guy so he asked, "Wait, what do you mean by that?"

"Maybe I'll tell you that story some other time-", he almost called him _kid_ because of how much he seemed like Oliver when he first got to the island. Then he added, "It's uh nice to meet you Merlyn, Oliver always spoke very highly of you."

Tommy looked over at Ollie and gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder, "Well, of course he did! This guy's my best bud, welcome home Ollie." Then he walked closer to the dark haired girl Oliver had introduced to him and said, "Why hello Shado, that is a very mysterious name."

The sharp glare Oliver aimed at Tommy put an end to his attempt at flirting.

Tommy took notice of Ollie's face and backed up a step as he replied politely instead, "um, it-it is nice to meet you." Then he stuck out his hand for both of them to shake.

At that moment Raisa walked in and told them, "Oh good to see you Mr. Merlyn, dinner will be served as soon as Mrs. Lance and the Detective arrive."

* * *

"Okay, what else did you guys miss? Super bowl winners-Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers, Giants again. A black president, that's new. Oh, and "Lost", they were all dead..I think", Tommy informed the four castaways.

The four of them ate as they listened to Tommy talk. Although, none of them really cared for the food but they didn't want to hurt Raisa's feelings so they continued to eat it. They weren't eating just fish and berries the whole time they were away but their taste buds had changed since then. Moira took notice of her son's little appetite but she chose not to comment on it.

Although, Lance wasn't afraid to show his concern for his daughter, "Eat up, honey. I imagine that island wasn't too filled with appetizing foods."

Sara replied, "Sorry dad, I guess we just kind of got use to eating stuff like that."

Lance put an arm around his daughter's chair and said, "It's okay, Sara. You'll all adjust to being back eventually." He was worried about his daughter. He didn't want to push her into revealing anything but he could clearly see how she had changed. All he could hope is that she would let him help her adjust to being home.

The rest of them just gave a polite smile and nodded at the detective's words. Then Thea asked abruptly, "What was it like there?" She was just so curious as to what their lives must have been like for the past five years, and no one else was asking what they were all obviously thinking.

Tommy looked at Ollie nervously not knowing how any of them were going to respond. It was kind of an unspoken rule that they weren't allowed to talk about the island at all. Surprisingly, Ollie looked at his sister with a sweet smile and replied softly, "cold." Then they all sat silent for a moment, not knowing how to continue the conversation.

Trying to diffuse the awkwardness Tommy asked, "Hey Slade, why don't you tell us that funny story you mentioned earlier."

Slade was hesitant to reveal anything about the island to his friend's families so he looked to them both asking silently for their permission to tell the story. Sara nodded, it was really up to Ollie since she wasn't even on the island yet when the story they were talking about happened. Oliver looked to Slade with hesitance in his eyes for a moment before he gave a reluctant nod. _What could be the harm of telling one funny story, right?_ , he thought. _It's not like it would secretly reveal anything about them being future vigilantes or anything._ With both of their nods, Slade started to tell the story.

"Alright, well you see I was stranded on the island because my plane had crashed there. Oliver and I were living in the fallen fuselage. One time, I had been shot in the arm and this numskull over here was trying to dig the bullet out of my arm without throwing up. Quite the baby he is, wouldn't stop complaining."

"Hey, for your information I did not throw up, it was just really nasty looking."

"He swallowed it", Oliver opened his mouth to defend himself but couldn't because that part was actually true.

"So anyway, the kid had just finished stitching up the hole in my arm when all the sudden he looks at me and starts laughing", Slade says as he begins to tell the story. "I look at this kid like what the bloody hell is he thinking? So I ask him "What?" I mean come on, he had just dug a bullet out of my arm and then he had a dumb smile on his face", he continued. He looked over at the man in question and saw an amused smirk grow on his face.

"Why was he laughing?", Thea asked curiously.

"Well the kid looked at me with this goofy grin and said, "I'm trapped on an island and my only friend is named Wilson", let's just say I was not amused."

Oliver chuckled, "I thought it was funny."

Then Tommy said, "Oh I get it! That's what I said when I first met you, so just like Ollie!"

Sara commented teasingly, "The two you did always have your own weird sense of humor."

Slade then added comically, "And it wasn't really even what the kid said that annoyed me, it was just that the kid was just standing there laughing at his own joke!"

Oliver genuinely laughed as he said, "Hey, It's just that I though it was pretty funny, don't you?"

"You know kid, honestly I didn't laugh much until you came to the island."

Shado teased, "Aw Slade's getting sentimental!"

The others all watched the four of them communicate and could tell that they had become quite close over the years. Lance was listening to the story and thought, _well that sounds like something the stupid queen kid would do._ But then he realized, where was his daughter when this was happening? Where was Shado? How the hell did this guy get shot on a deserted island? It seemed with every little piece of information he got, even more questions began to arise. So he asked, "Where were you Sara? Slade said that only him and Oliver were living in that plane?"

Sara froze at her father's question. They had forgotten about that detail. She opened her mouth trying to come up with a fast cover story, "Um-uh, I was living with them, it's just that I was out hunting when that happened." She knew her father was a good detective, she just hoped he would buy her lie and stop asking questions.

Lance knew she was lying but didn't want to push the topic so he asked some different questions, "Wait- hunting? You hunt? Also where was Shado when this was happening? You didn't go hunting alone did you? And Mr. Wilson how the hell did you get shot on an island with no people on it? Don't tell me there was some arms wielding ape or somethin'?"

The four of them suddenly felt like they were getting interrogated with the fast speed of questions Lance was shooting at them. This is what Oliver was worried about: revealing too much and having to answer to questions he couldn't answer without lying to his family. How was he suppose to dig them out of this mess?

Luckily Shado came to the rescue, "I was out hunting with Sara, Mr. Lance. We never left each other alone." She knew that was a complete lie. Both of the women hadn't even been with them on the island during this time and they definitely were capable of hunting by themselves. Although if that's what it took to give their parents a little peace at mind and get them to stop asking further questions, it was worth it.

Slade added, "Yea, I was trying to teach this dumb kid how to shoot so he could hunt too but well he's a slow learner." As Slade said this he had a _what can you do_ look on his face like it's just a known fact that Oliver isn't the brightest bulb in the box. After he said that he felt a sharp elbow nudge his side.

Oliver commented fake teasingly, "Yep, Sara picked that up much quicker than I did. I was always kinda clumsy." Oh boy did he hate having to say that in front of his friends, but he had to keep his cover. He had to make it seem like he was still the same old stupid Ollie from before the island. He looked over at Slade and gave him another elbow to the side bellow the table so it wasn't seen from anyone else, trying to wipe that giant smile off his face.

Slade couldn't help it. The kid had finally admitted to being clumsy. He would never let him live this one down. In retaliation to the elbow jabs he replied, "Oh yea, you should see this kid try and start a fire with sticks, now that is hilarious!"

Thea said excitedly, "Ooo, tell us that story!" She wanted to know as much about her brother's experience as possible.

Oliver interrupted right as Slade was opening his mouth to continue, effectively cutting him off. "Uh, I think I've had enough embarrassment for one day. Maybe some other time Thea."

"You promise?", she asked.

Slade happily replied, "You bet."

Walter had been listening to the conversation and was quite intrigued by the relationship the four seemed to have. He too had many questions but felt it wasn't really his place to ask. He wasn't so sure if he really bought their whole cover up story after Lance revealed the holes in it. It was not hard to believe that Oliver was a slow learner but something just didn't seem right. Leaving his conflicting thoughts aside he asked conversationally, "Mr. Wilson where is that accent from?"

"Australia", he replied.

Moira asked curiously, "What were you doing near the island?"

"I am an agent for ASIS, I was on a mission when my plane went down." Moira was impressed by that answer. At least her son had someone to protect him while he was on the island, he never could have managed alone.

"Oh how interesting, what about you Shado, How did you get stranded on the island?", Moira asked.

Shado had to come up with a lie quickly. She couldn't exactly say that she was kidnapped by mercenaries to be used as leverage against her now dead father who were all on the island too. "I was on a boat trip for school when a bad storm hit. I was the only one who made it to shore", she made up pretending to be sad about the tragic story. She wished that was the real reason she was there. Then maybe her father would still be alive.

"Oh I am so sorry", Moira said regretting she had asked. She should of known it wasn't a happy story since Oliver and Sara didn't get there without tragedy either.

"It's alright", she said softly.

Tommy changed the morose topic by saying, "Hey Ollie, you and me, we are doing the city tomorrow. You have a lot to catch up on." He couldn't wait to finally spend time with his best bud just like the good old days.

"That sounds like a great idea Oliver", his mother said.

"Good, maybe Slade could come too." Oliver didn't want to leave him behind and thought it would be nice for his best friend from before the island and his best friend now to get to know each other. Plus it would be good for Slade to see Starling City a bit.

Slade didn't think spending the day with two stupid billionaires was really what he wanted to do so he started to say, "Uh, you know kid-."

But he was cut off by Tommy, "That will be fun! Sounds great, so I will pick the two of you up tomorrow!"

"Just don't get in too much trouble", Sara said teasingly.

"Oh when have we ever gotten in to trouble?", Tommy asked jokingly because he already knew the answer.

Sara replied, "When Ollie punched that paparazzi douche in the face."

"Hey, that guy had it coming", Oliver said.

Tommy laughed as he added, "Or you remember when we peed on that cop!"

Lance then decided to speak, "Yea I remember that one Merlyn, I was the cop!"

The rest of the table all bursted into laughter at that. It was so good to finally have everyone back together just like before. Then Raisa walked into the room carrying a bowl of fruit but tripped as she walked towards the table almost dropping all of it.

Oliver caught it without thinking and spoke to her in Russian instinctively. He had spent the last year in Russia so it just came out naturally.

Of course everyone at the table was now wondering when dumb Ollie learned how to speak fluent Russian.

Tommy asked surprised, "Dude, you speak Russian?!"

Walter added politely, "I didn't realize you took Russian in college Oliver."

 _Well he had really put his foot in his mouth this time,_ Oliver thought. How was he going to explain this one? Well, he wasn't. So he replied, "I didn't realize you wanted to sleep with my mother, Walter." He didn't owe this guy an explanation anyway so he changed the subject quite abruptly.

The table went dead silent for a moment. Sara kicked Ollie's foot under the table with an _are you kidding me_ look on her face. Oliver ignored it but he couldn't help noticing the small smirk on Slade's face.

Thea blurted out, "I didn't say anything." They were going to wait on telling him. At the current awkwardness suffocating the table she thought maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all.

"She didn't have too", Oliver replied looking at his mother.

So Moira decided to come clean, "Oliver, Walter and I are married, and I don't want you to think that either one of us did anything to disrespect your father." She knew that this was going to be hard for her son to take in after everything he must have been through but she couldn't hide it any longer.

Walter added, "We both believed that Robert, like you, was, uh well, gone."

Shado could practically feel the tension in the room. She could tell that Walter meant well, but that was probably not the best thing he could have said. She knew that even though Oliver was trying to distract everyone from his new found talent of speaking Russian, Walter's presence really did bother him.

"It's fine", Oliver responded shortly. It was just that every time he saw Walter it was a strong reminder of his father's absence. So he asked, "May I be excused?" He saw his mother nod and as he walked away he made sure to send a lovingly smile to his sister hoping to dispel the concerned frown off her face.

Tommy grabbed his arm before he left and reminded him, "Hey don't forget about tomorrow buddy."

After Oliver left it was hard to dissipate the awkwardness. Once Lance was done eating Sara reluctantly said goodbye to her friends and went back to Laurel's apartment. Tommy left promising he would be back tomorrow morning and Thea decided it was time to go to bed. Shado and Slade were honestly exhausted. Neither of them had gotten much sleep on the boat or plane. Plus they had had a long day today so it was time to finally try and get some sleep.

Oliver put on his pajamas and climbed into his old bed. He just laid there and tried to fall asleep for about an hour. It's just the bed was too soft, too comfortable. He was used to sleeping on some hard mattress in Russia or a cave floor on the island. So he got up and laid down on the hard wood floor in front of the open window as rain from the outside started to blow inside. Now that was much better. After a few moments he let sleep take over him as the sounds of thunder boomed outside.

 _Thunder boomed around him as rain pelted down and waves crashed over his head. His father was screaming his name and pulled him into the raft. They were hungry and thirsty, the water supply was low. His father looked at him as he raised a gun to his head and-_

Moira was awaken by screams coming from down the hall. Her and Walter went down to make sure everything was okay. She got nervous when she realized those screams were coming from her son so she burst into the room and saw that he was currently on the floor soaking wet in the throes of a horrible nightmare. She bent down to wake him and sternly called out his name. The next thing she knew she was being flipped onto her back with a hand pressed against her throat.

Shado and Slade both rushed to Oliver's room when they heard him screaming. When they ran in they both saw Oliver with a hand against his mother's neck as she lay on the ground. They saw as Oliver snapped out of it and scrambled away frighteningly when he realized he was attacking his mother.

"I'm sorry, I'm so-I'm so sorry", he said guiltily.

"Oh it's okay Oliver. It's all right, sweetheart. You're home. You're home", Moira said comfortingly as she knelt down to be level with her son.

Slade rushed forward and knelt down in front of Moira and Walter to prevent them from getting any closer. Shado went to Oliver and placed her hand on his arm. As Slade tried to reassure the kid's parents and get them to leave the room Shado said kindly to Oliver, "It's okay. Your okay Oliver. You didn't hurt anyone. Everyone is safe."

Once Oliver's parents left Slade knelt down in front of him and asked, "You alright kid?"

Oliver nodded but he still had that look in his eye. The look he got when he felt guilty and ashamed. Shado turned to Slade and told him, "Can you give us a minute?"

Slade nodded, "Of course", and headed back to his room. He knew Shado would be able to talk to the kid and make him feel better. She was always good at that kind of stuff.

She looked at him kindly and asked, "Tell me what your nightmare was about." She knew that if he talked about it, it would help him feel better.

Oliver looked up at her like a scared little boy and replied simply, "My father."

"What about him?" She stared into his blue eyes as she wiped some of the water dripping down his face off with her small hand.

"It was uh, right before he uh well you know killed himself", he answered quietly.

Shado then leaned in and gave her friend a much needed hug. He laid his head on her shoulder and they sat like that for a few minutes before he added timidly, "I just miss him."

She could understand that, she missed her father too. "I know Oliver. I know", she said softly and then she sat up and looked at him in the eyes. "You know, for the past five years, always running, surviving, we never really were given the chance to grieve those that we have lost. It's normal to start missing him now that your back home surrounded by the people he loved. Now that we both are living in a normal life it makes sense that we start to mourn the people we miss. I think about my father everyday Oliver just like you, we will get through this together okay?"

"Okay", he nodded. "Thank you Shado", he said meaningfully. He was so thankful for having a friendship with her. She was so smart and strong, and kind. He watched as she leaved to go back to her room and he just remained on the floor, not sure how he could possibly go back to sleep now. Although to his surprise Slade and Shado walked back into his room each carrying a pillow and the comforter from their large beds.

"Looks like we're having a sleepover kid", Slade said as he plopped his stuff down on the floor beside Oliver.

"Oliver go get your blanket and bring it down here, we are all sleeping on the floor tonight", Shado told him.

"Guys, you don't have to do this, really I'm fine", he insisted. He already felt bad that he had woken everybody, he didn't want to be the reason they all slept on the floor too.

"Yea sure kid, we are already here so grab your stuff and lay down would you." Slade knew the kid wouldn't fall asleep anytime soon without them so he wasn't going anywhere. Plus, he honestly preferred the floor to that too soft of a bed as well.

Oliver realizing he was outnumbered went to drag his stuff to the floor. They all laid in a circle covering the floor with their giant comforters and eventually drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for all the nice reviews, I love them so much! Thank you to everyone who has followed or favorited, I hope you are all enjoying the story!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow.**

* * *

Slade woke up as the early morning sun shone into his eyes through the large window. _Where the bloody hell am I?,_ he thought. _Oh that's right, I fell asleep on the floor of the kid's room._ He sat up and stretched out as he looked around to see both Shado and Oliver to still be asleep. He decided to carry his huge comforter back to his room and when he returned they were both fidgeting and beginning to wake up.

Oliver started to be consumed by wakefulness, trying to figure out where he ended up falling asleep. He could feel a hard floor beneath him and a warm blanket above him. _Oh yea, we had a sleepover,_ he remembered. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around him, seeing Shado curled up sleeping but Slade was missing. He sat up quickly and called out, "Slade?!"

"I'm right here kid", Slade said as he walked over.

"Oh sorry, I didn't realize you were over there." He relaxed once he heard Slade's voice. It was just instinct that he made sure they were all safe first thing after he woke up even if they were in a highly secured mansion.

Shado started to wake up at the sound of their voices and asked, "Are you guys okay?" She had to make sure everyone was safe too.

Slade answered, "Yep, we're all just peachy. I can't wait to head to town with Tweedledee and Tweedledum."

"Hey, it'll be fun Mr. Grumpy and it will also allow me to see if the place for our future base of operations is available", Oliver replied.

Shado asked, "What is this place you have in mind anyway?"

"It was my father's old factory, but it was shut down and I am pretty sure still abandoned. We can reconstruct it however we want."

"Sounds like a plan, Kid."

Oliver walked into Thea's room to speak to her before he left with Tommy and Slade. As he was walking in he caught a glimpse of her and her friend crushing drugs before they hid it away. _I am going to have to talk to her about that later,_ he thought.

"Ollie!", Thea said surprised as she moved to stand in front of the drugs on her table.

"Hey, Speedy", he replied.

"Worst nickname ever."

"What always chasing after me as a kid? I thought it fit pretty well...maybe it still does."

 _Well shit, I think he knows,_ thought Thea. Oh well she decided to just pretend like everything was fine and dandy.

After her friend left for school Oliver handed her something, "You did not come back from a deserted island with a souvenir."

"It's a hozen. And in Buddhism, it symbolizes reconnecting. I kept it in hopes that one day it would reconnect me with you." Thea took the offered gift with a happy smile. She honestly didn't care about the hozen or whatever it was she was just so glad her brother was here.

Tommy waltzed in and said jovially, "A rock! That is sweet. You know, I want one of those T-shirts that says "My friend was a castaway, and all I got was this crappy shirt." Then he continued to laugh at his own joke.

Oliver smiled bemusedly and listened to Thea tell him, "Don't let him get you into too much trouble. You just got back, take it slow."

He hugged her goodbye and left the room with Tommy to go tell Slade it was time to leave. Tommy said, "Hey, have you noticed how hot your sister's gotten?" Oliver sent a glare at Tommy, "because I have not." Tommy lifted his hands in surrender.

He decided to let it go and walked down the hall to Slade's room. He poked his head through the door and called, "Hey, It's time to go!"

Slade got up and muttered to himself, "And the joy begins."

* * *

"So where do you want to head first?", asked Tommy to Oliver sitting in the passenger seat.

"I was thinking we could drive through the glades", Oliver replied hoping his friend wouldn't think too much of why he wanted to do that.

"Why do you want go there?", Tommy asked surprisingly. _Tommy was always inquisitive despite his reputation of being an idiot,_ Oliver thought. He would have to be cautious about what he did around his best friend in the future.

"Oh no reason, I just want to get a look at the city since I've been gone for so long", he decided being a castaway was a good excuse.

Tommy changed the topic by saying, "Your funeral blew."

Oliver put on his Ollie smile and replied, "Did you get lucky?"

"Fish in a barrel..", Tommy said as he and Oliver laughed.

Slade sat in the backseat listening to the dumb conversation with his head in his hands. _If only I had a gun to shoot myself with right about now,_ he though sarcastically. He kind of felt like he was third wheeling to whatever weird bromance the two rich kids had going on up in the front.

"I am counting on another target rich environment for you and Sara's welcome home bash. And I guess a welcome back to civilization party for Slade and Shado."

"At our what?", Oliver asked.

"Dude, you came back from the dead! This calls for a party!", Tommy stated like it was obvious.

Slade replied bluntly, "I don't do parties." Oh God, was he not going to that. No way.

"What?! Who doesn't like a good party?", Tommy asked exasperated.

Oliver answered, "Yea, Slade's not really the party type and I don't-"

But he was cut off by Tommy, "Just tell me when and where. I will take care of everything. You are going my friend."

"Okay", he said while shaking his head and smiling. It would help him lead the public to believe he was still the same old Ollie. It would help Sara's cover story too although he wasn't sure if partying was really Shado's thing either.

As Tommy's expensive car sped around the corner, out the window they could see abandoned and old buildings littered in graffiti with homeless people in worn clothes loitering on the sidewalks pushing shopping carts filled with their few belongings. _I am going to fix this,_ Oliver thought.

"This city's gone to crap. Your dad sold his factory just in time", Tommy stated.

Slade saw Oliver turn his head to look at an old building marked Queen Industrial Inc. and figured that must be the building the kid was talking about for their future plans. He could tell it had potential and it was in the center of crime and poverty in Starling which was good.

"So, Hey Willie..may I call you Willie?", Tommy turned to ask Slade.

"No."

"Okay, well Slade what made you decide to come to Starling anyway?"

He decided to answer honestly, "Oliver and Sara are my family, it seemed like the logical place to go."

"So the four of you are really close, huh?" Tommy noticed the way they acted around each other. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little jealous of the close relationship they have with his best friend but now he had the chance to rekindle his friendship with Ollie.

Slade looked at the kid as he answered, "Yep, nothing makes a lasting friendship than being trapped on an island together."

Tommy laughed, "Can't argue with that." Then he asked them, "So what did you miss the most?" He smiled mischievously at Oliver, "Steaks at the palm, drinks at the station, meaningless sex?"

Slade snorted, "Well for you billionaires information I missed having a bed. What 'bout you kid, not enough parties on the island?"

Oliver didn't need anytime to think when he answered, "Laurel." He felt guilty for how he treated her and for what happened with Sara. He didn't know how he would live with himself if something had happened to Sara while they were away and ended up coming home without her. He just wanted to apologize to Laurel, let her know that he was truly sorry.

Tommy commented, "Everyone is happy your alive. You want to see the one person who isn't?"

Oliver just lifted his shoulders and tilted his head like _yep._

"You sure that's a good idea kid?", Slade asked unsure. He had a feeling this wasn't going to go well.

"I just have to apologize to her."

"Well alright, let's take a trip to CNRI", Tommy replied even though he knew this was a bad idea, but oh well the castaway gets what the castaway wants.

* * *

Oliver was waiting inside of CNRI standing at Laurel's desk. He was looking at a board covered in evidence pertaining to Adam Hunt. He's on the list. If Laurel was getting involved in a case with somebody dangerous enough to be on his list then maybe he just found his first target. Suddenly he could hear her voice coming closer and it reminded him of that time when he managed to call her his first year on the island. Now that he thought about it, he's glad he didn't respond because then Shado and Sara might have never made it to Starling. He turned around to see her and she looked just like he remembered, beautiful.

"Hello, Laurel", he said with a small smile. He watched as the emotions played across her face from happy, to surprised, to angry. That was about what he was expecting. "Can we talk outside maybe?" He figured she would feel more comfortable yelling at him if she weren't in front of her coworkers. Laurel just gave a sharp nod and lead him outside. He wasn't really sure where to start so he stated, "You went to Law School. You said you would." He was proud of her, he knew she was always going to accomplish great things. He continued to walk beside her waiting for her to respond when suddenly she stopped. He turned to look at her when he suddenly saw her fist in a direct line for his face. He had to force himself to control his instincts and not fight back. He just stood there and felt as her strong fist connected with his left eye.

Slade and Tommy were watching from their parked car down the street. When Slade saw the kid get punched in the face he couldn't stop his fist from clenching and the growl from escaping his lips. Tommy turned to look at the big guy and said, "Hey okay tough guy, Ollie's fine. I don't think Laurel will go any further than that." He wasn't going to let this scary dude chase after Laurel. And he couldn't really say he was expecting her reaction to go any better.

Laurel looked at him with such anger and hatred. He began to open his mouth to start apologizing but she started yelling at him, "You think you can just show up here, at my job in front of my coworkers, and just act like the last five years didn't happen!" _Okay so that's not exactly what his intentions were._ "So what are you even doing here?" _Well, here it goes._

"To apologize. Everything that happened was my fault and I wanted to ask you not to blame Sara. She deserves a second chance at a relationship with her sister." By the look on Laurel's face he didn't think she was taking his apology too well.

"Blame her? How could I blame her for doing the same things I did? Falling under your spell? She was my sister! I thought she was dead. For five years I thought my sister had died while screwing my boyfriend. I was so angry I couldn't even grieve! But I couldn't be angry because she was dead! We buried an empty coffin because we thought her body was left at the bottom of the ocean. And now she's back, the doctor said that she is covered in scars. That she was injured so many times while she was away. She doesn't sleep without getting nightmares. You ruined her life! You are the reason God only knows what terrible things happened to her! So you know what Ollie, I wish you had rotted in hell a whole lot longer than five years!" Tears started to stream down Laurel's face as she stormed away from him. He didn't even get the chance to say he was sorry again. He didn't get the chance to say hardly anything. He thought about everything that she said and knew that it was true. Everything that happened to Sara was his fault. She had every right to be as angry as she was. So he turned around and walked back to the car dejectedly. When he got back to his two best friends he could tell by the glare on Slade's face that he was not happy.

"Kid, you didn't deserve that", Slade knew Oliver had a tendency to take everyone's guilt upon himself and Laurel had just made it a hundred times worse. Didn't she even realize that Oliver lived through the same hell that Sara did, that they all did?

Oliver appreciated Slade's words but he didn't believe that. "Why not, it's all true Slade."

"Oliver don't give me that. We've talked about this. Sara made the decision to get on that damn boat just as much as you did and you both suffered greatly for it. You cannot blame yourself for every bad thing that happens to the people around you", he tried to tell the stubborn kid.

Oliver looked at Slade and the guilt he felt could be seen in his eyes. How could he not blame himself? If he had never asked her, which he shouldn't have because Sara was his girlfriend's sister, then she never would have even had the opportunity to say yes to his offer.

Tommy listened to their conversation and realized the true extent to which this guilt had been burdening his friend's shoulders. It was the most honest expression he had seen on Ollie's face since he came home. He realized that maybe his friend had changed a lot more than everyone really thought. He tried to make Ollie feel better by adding, "Look man, Slade's right. You had no control over the weather while you guys were on that yacht. You couldn't have known what was going to happen and if you did, none of you would have gone."

 _Maybe his dumb friend isn't so bad after all,_ Slade thought. He looked to Tommy with a nod of respect. The rich boy may be an idiot but he cared about Oliver and he was a good friend. Before he could comment he heard the sound of wheels screeching as he turned around to see a large black van pulling into the alley right behind them.

"What the hell?!", Tommy yelled. Then suddenly five men in black hoodies and red masks came at them from all directions.

"Get Down!", Slade called out.

Oliver watched as Tommy got hit with a tranquilizer and fell to the pavement. He wasn't sure if he should fight back because then his cover would be blown. Slade was shot with a dart before he could even engage in a fight with one of the hooded monsters. It took him a few seconds to fall but as he did he heard a gunshot and watched the kid get hit as well.

Oliver slowly fell to the ground as his vision blurred but before he lost consciousness the man with the machine gun murdered a witness from the building next store. The next thing he knew, everything went black.

* * *

Slade began to come back to consciousness. Before he let their captors know he had waken, he tried to assess his new surroundings. He listened carefully and could make out the sound of five different pairs of footsteps. He tried to listen for anything that would indicate if the two kids were alright and the faint sound of breathing could be heard from beside him.

Then he heard the footsteps all move towards the same direction and one of them called out, "Mr. Queen!" They were headed towards Oliver, this wasn't good. He opened his eyes and saw the leader crackle a taser in the kid's face. The masked man asked, "Did your father survive that accident?" He watched as the kid sent the man a hard glare and thought, _I taught him that one well._ As Oliver's gaze drifted near him he realized the rich boy was zonked out on the ground beside his chair that he was currently zip-tied too. He was surprised that he actually felt some concern for Tommy's well being. _I guess he's growin' on me._ When the kid refused to answer to their tormentors the leader stated harshly, "I ask the questions. You give me the answers." He had to keep in a snort at that one. _Hate to break it to ya buddy, but that ain't going to happen._ At Oliver's silence, the kid was met with a taser to the chest. The scream the kid let out was a believable one, although he knew the kid was exaggerating for the purpose of making a show. _Maybe the kid should try a career in acting,_ he mused. Then the man asked, "Did he make it to the island? Did he tell you anything?" Again the questions were met with silence. He saw Oliver let out another pain filled scream as he tried to wrestle his wrists out of the zip ties. A few seconds later and _snap!_ He quietly rose and inched his way closer to the hooded men. Oliver must've heard him because the kid looked up discreetly at him. He lifted his pointer finger to his lips, motioning him to be quiet.

Oliver let out a few heavy breaths and then in an effort to distract the men from Slade's approach he said, "Yes, he did."

The monster masked man got in his face and repeated, "What did he tell you?"

Before he could respond Slade jumped onto the man questioning him and wrapped a strong arm around his neck, putting the man to sleep.

Slade was ready to fight. The other masked kidnappers suddenly rushed at him all at once but they were no match for the former ASIS agent. He threw a swift punch to the one in front of him, effectively knocking him out as he kicked at the other one behind him. After two minutes the monster faced men were all scattered on the cement floor unconscious. _They had no idea who they were messing with,_ he thought smugly.

Oliver decided to let Slade take care of the kidnappers himself. It wasn't worth risking his cover but it would make sense that an ASIS agent knew how to defend himself in a fight. Freeing himself of the zip-ties, he stood up and asked Slade, "You okay?"

"This day turned out to be more fun than I thought it would be, kid."

"I should have known a good day out on the town to you would include a fight and being kidnapped."

"Sure beats ex-girlfriend drama."

"You got me there", Oliver replied as he walked over to Tommy. His friend was still out of it from the drugs. He placed two fingers on his neck just to make sure he still had a pulse. He let out a breath of relief once he was assured that Tommy was going to be okay, the drugs just had more of an effect on him. He noticed his eyes start to flutter so he called out, "Tommy, Tommy wake up." After repeating that a couple times it began to work.

"O-Ollie?", Tommy slurred.

"Come on, let's get out of here buddy." Him and Slade both helped lift Tommy into the car. Oliver wasn't even sure if it was legal for him to be driving a car since he was still technically dead but he got in the driver's seat anyway. If he let Slade drive they probably would end up on the wrong side of the road. Slade used Tommy's phone to let the police know their was a warehouse in the Glades filled with unconscious kidnappers while they headed back to the mansion.

* * *

"So your tellin' me that Mr. Wilson here took out all five of those armed kidnappers by himself?", Lance asked.

"Yes sir", Oliver replied. They were all back at the mansion now and Detective Lance was asking them for their statements about the kidnapping. Sara had come with him because she needed to make sure they were okay, and she missed them.

"What about you Merlyn, is that what happened?"

Tommy answered, "Uh, I was pretty out of it. I don't really remember anything until they dragged me to the car."

"I didn't know you could fight like that Mr. Wilson", Lance stated.

Slade responded, "Well, I was an ASIS agent before the island, Detective. It was necessary that we were trained to fight."

"Ah, right you mentioned that at dinner yesterday. So Oliver you said they tasered you for information about your father correct?" At Queen's nod he continued, "Anything else happen? Any idea why they would ask you that?"

"No idea, Detective. Maybe you should ask them." Lance humphed at the wise remark.

Sara listened to their statements and was glad that Slade got them out of there. Why would someone question Ollie about his dead father? She hoped this didn't have anything to do with the list. Then she noticed the black eye that Ollie was definitely not sporting yesterday. "Did they give you that black eye too Ollie?" She watched as he looked hesitant to answer her question. Something happened that they weren't telling her. "Ollie, what happened?", she asked seriously.

Oliver wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Sara about his confrontation with her sister but he guessed it was going to come out eventually anyway. "Uh, no. This wasn't from the kidnappers. We stopped to see Laurel today", he answered not explaining any further.

The rest of them were able to put two and two together. Lance let out a laugh at that. _That's my girl,_ he thought. He would have paid money to see that. The Queen kid deserved a punch for what he did to his daughters. He may have been trying to be nice to the kid but he also couldn't say he was upset that his daughter gave him a good shiner.

Sara on the other hand was not happy. "What?! I can't believe she did that! Did she say anything to you?" She watched Oliver look down and avoid her eyes at that question. So Laurel did say something and by the look on his face it wasn't a welcome home.

Slade was still angry at what had been said to his brother. The kid may not want to snitch on his ex-girlfriend but he had no problem with it. "The lovely Laurel blames him for everything that happened to you Sara. She told him that she wished he was still rotting in hell."

Lance winced at that. _Okay, that was a little harsh._

Oliver turned to Slade angry that he had revealed so much, "Slade! It's no big deal Sara."

She was angry. Of course, she knew that Laurel had a right to be mad at Ollie for cheating on her. But she had played just an equal part in that as he did. And her sister had _no idea_ what kind of hell they had been through. She had no right saying those things to Oliver. She couldn't help the low growl that escaped her lips. Without a word to anyone else, Sara picked up her jacket and stormed out of the mansion with one destination in mind: Laurel's apartment.

With the sudden turn of events Lance stood, "Well, I uh think I got enough for the report. Somethin' tells me I got to go stop a World War lll from happening so I'll see ya around."

After Lance made his leave Moira looked worriedly at her son, "Are sure your alright Oliver? I think maybe you should get checked out at the hospital."

"No, I'm fine Mom. Really, it's nothing don't worry."

Once his mother and Walter left the living room it was just Slade, Tommy, Shado and him remaining. He turned to Slade and asked, "Why would you tell her that? Now it will be my fault that Sara has trouble making up with her sister."

"Seriously kid. How many times do I got to tell you that everything isn't your fault", Slade replied.

He opened his mouth to argue but Shado interrupted him, "Slade's right, Oliver. Even if he hadn't told us what happened, Sara and Laurel will never truly make up if they don't talk about the issues between them."

Tommy added, "Yea, what she said." He didn't really want to bash Laurel but he also couldn't completely defend her actions against his best friend so he just agreed with the smart one.

"I guess your right", Oliver conceded. He still couldn't get those words that Laurel yelled at him out of his head though. Deep down a part of him still believed they were true.

"When are we not right, is the real question", Slade smiled. That helped to ease some of the tension in the room and caused them all to chuckle.

* * *

Sara marched up to Laurel's apartment and knocked loudly on the door. She was about to give Laurel a piece of her mind.

Laurel looked through the peep hole on her door and saw it was her little sister so she opened it happily, "Hey Sara-", but before she could continue Sara just barged past her and into the living room. "Well hello to you too", she muttered. _What's up with her,_ she thought. She moved back into her apartment and asked, "Sara, is something wrong?" She was surprised by the sheer amount of anger on her sister's face.

"I know what happened between you and Ollie today."

 _Oh, that's what this is about._ "Look Sara, I told him what needed to be said."

"You mean you had to give him a black eye!" _How could Laurel even say that._

 _"_ Yes! A matter of fact I did Sara because he deserved it after everything he did to me, to you!", she began to raise her voice. "Everything bad that's happened in our lives started when he brought you on the Gambit!"

"That is so ignorant Laurel! Don't you get that I had a say in that too. Oliver didn't kidnap me, I went on that damn boat out of my own free will!"

"Yes, but if he hadn't of asked you, all those terrible things that you won't even talk to me about never would have happened!"

At that statement the steam could practically be seen coming out of Sara's ears. She was so blinded by her anger that she didn't even notice her father enter the apartment. "You have no idea what any of us lived through on that damn island Laurel. You _wish_ that Ollie would have rotted in hell, well let me tell you that's where we were! You blame him for what has happened but you don't even know what happened! If it wasn't for him I would be dead. I wouldn't have even made it home if not for him so maybe instead you should be glad he didn't die on that damn island! And you know after five years of dreaming about some day coming home, about dreaming for life where your not constantly worried about whether or not you'll still be alive the next day; it sucks to actually come home to the people you love and have them tell you, you deserved every horrible thing you lived through!"

Laurel was stunned. "I-I was just trying to defend you Sara and how bad could it have really been, it was just a deserted island!"

"None of that was Ollie's fault, he couldn't control the weather when the yacht split in half, when he watched his father die! And trust me if you knew what _really_ happened on that island, well I wouldn't wish that on anyone." With that said she stormed into the bedroom and grabbed her bags, then walked across the apartment straight towards the door.

"Where are you going Sara?!", Laurel said as tears began to fill her eyes.

Sara didn't even turn to look at her sister as she said, "I'm staying at the mansion from now on."

Laurel and Lance both watched her go. _What happened to them while they were away?_ That was the question running through both of their minds. Laurel ran to her room, she needed to think about everything that had happened. Lance just stood staring at the door his little girl had left through and thought, _they're all hiding something, there's more to the story than they're letting on. Whatever had happened to them on that island effected them more than anybody realized and I'm going to find out just exactly what that is._

* * *

Sara was kindly let into the mansion by Raisa and she walked right into the living room where her family still was. Tommy had gone home and Oliver, Slade, and Shado were sitting on the couch together watching a movie. She stood in front of them, dropping her bags on the floor with a thud and asked, "Got room for one more?"

They all looked up at Sara and without words scooted over to make a spot for her on the couch. Oliver looked at her with a warm smile and replied, "Always." This, this was her true family.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for all the nice reviews! I really appreciate them so don't be afraid to let me know what you think. Thank you to all the people who have followed and favorited this story, I hope you like it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone! I'm sorry for the long update, life just gets a little crazy sometimes. This chapter took me some time to write because even though I know where I want this story to go, I'm still trying to figure out how to get there. Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow.**

* * *

The four castaways traveled in a group as they trotted down the tall staircase towards the front door. They were planning on checking out Queen Consolidated's abandoned steel factory.

When they got outside though their leave was stopped by none other than Moira Queen, "Good Morning! Oliver, where are you and your friends heading off to?"

"We just wanted to get out of the mansion for a little bit mom", Oliver answered hoping she would just let them leave without any problems.

"Oh okay, well then now is a perfect time to introduce you to your new bodyguard John Diggle. He will be accompanying you from now on", she stated firmly.

The rest of their ears perked up at that. How were they were going to accomplish anything with a bodyguard watching their every move?

Oliver replied, "I don't need a babysitter."

Before Moira could argue back Walter interjected reasonably, "Darling, Oliver is an adult. He can take care of himself."

 _Well, thank you Walter,_ Sara thought. Oliver was surprised by this statement, _maybe the guy wasn't so bad after all._

Slade added defensively, "Plus, Oliver has me, Moira. Have I not shown that I am capable of protecting your son?" _Honestly, taking down five armed kidnappers aren't enough for ya?_

"Yes, yes I understand but this is for me. I need to know your safe honey and Slade can't be with you every second of the day, but Mr. Diggle here can", Moira answered. She knew that her son was still in danger and she needed to make sure he had protection even if only for her own peace at mind.

Oliver looked to see his friends faces and could tell they were not happy with the sudden turn of events but he didn't see a way out of this one so he nodded his head and conceded, "Okay."

* * *

"So... what do I call you?", Oliver asked from the backseat of the car squished between Slade and Shado. None of them wanted to sit in the front next to Mr. Diggle because then they wouldn't be able to make their great escape.

"Diggle's good. Dig if you want", he answered indifferently.

Shado could tell from the man's stoic face and aloof demeanor that he must have some kind of military background so she asked, "Are you ex-military?"

"Yes, mam. 105th airborne out of Kandahar. Retired. Been in the private sector a little more than four years now", he explained his life story in succinct and straight forward bullet points.

Slade responded, "Ah well you see _Diggle_ , I am a former member of ASIS so your services here really aren't necessary." _I could take this guy any day,_ he thought. He couldn't believe that Moira thought him not capable enough of protecting his family. He was insulted. He kept these kids alive for the past five years, and he had no plans of stopping now. The rest of them had to hide their smirks at Slade's obvious dislike for the new guy.

"I'm just doing what I was hired for Mr. Wilson", Diggle responded unaffected by Slade's comment. Then he added, "I don't want there to be any confusion, Mr. Queen. My ability to keep you from harm will outweigh your comfort."

Oliver looked to Slade and Sara sitting next to the car doors and motioned for them to exit. He figured this was a good time to make their escape as Dig went on his little bodyguard spiel. So carefully and quietly Sara and Slade opened their doors and slid out into traffic followed by Oliver and Shado.

Diggle unaware of the happenings in the backseat asked, "Do we have an agreement?" At the silence that followed he asked, "Sir?" Again at the silence that followed he turned his head to see both of the doors hanging open and the seat missing of four castaways. _Dammit,_ he thought. Maybe he underestimated this group of ragtag misfits and a stupid billionaire?

They each ran quickly to the sidewalk blending in with the buildings and cars along the street. Then they all ran at top speed, as if they were on the island, through the Glades following Oliver towards the steel factory, trying to put as much distance between them and their new stalker as possible.

Once they had reached the general vicinity of the abandoned factory they slowed to a walk. They reached the tall chain-linked fence with a lock, enclosing the factory and stopped. "Do you have a key, Ollie?", Sara asked.

"Nope, looks like we'll have to jump", he replied.

Without further ado Slade threw his bag over the fence, jumped up, and flipped right over the top followed by his friends. They walked inside and got to work cleaning up the place.

"Wow, it's really big in here Oliver. Are we going to use all of this space?", Shado asked curiously.

"No, just the basement. I was thinking the main floor could become a night club."

Slade snorted, "And who would run it?"

Oliver stated, "us", like it was obvious.

Sara reasoned, "I guess it does make sense. Rich playboy comes home and instead of joining his family's company, starts his own nightclub so he can party everyday."

Shado added, "True, and it would be a good alibi at night when we're really off shooting arrows somewhere."

Slade humphed, "I guess, but I'm still not going to that welcome home party."

"At the what?", Sara asked confused.

Oliver smiled, "Tommy is throwing us a welcome home bash Sara and you are coming with me, you have too."

"Uggg, I should've known. Fine, but if we have to suffer through this, you guys should too", Sara stated.

Before Slade and Shado could argue back Oliver decided to let them in on his plan he had been thinking about, "Actually, you are both going, but your not staying the whole time."

"Since when do I listen to you kid?", Slade answered sarcastically.

"What are you talking about Oliver?", Shado asked.

"Well, when I was at CNRI I saw that Laurel was going after a heavy hitter, Adam Hunt, who also happens to be on the list."

"So, is he our first target? What does that have to do with the party?", Shado inquired.

"I was thinking that the four of us could use that party as an alibi when we go after Hunt."

"Kid, don't ya think it would be a tad bit suspicious for four vigilantes to show up right after the four of us come to Starling, who also all happen to be at a party nearby", Slade pointed out the holes in Oliver's plan. _The kid never was the brains of the operations,_ he mused.

"Don't worry, I thought about that too. Sara and I will stay at the party the whole time since it would be what people expect us to do. You guys will make an appearance, maybe mingle a little, and then when the time comes one of you can go confront Hunt. After that's all over you can pop right back into the party, it would be like you never left."

"Not bad, kid. But what about the other one of us? We just gonna have to stay at that party with you two idiots?", Slade asked.

"Yes. You guys can decide who goes but I think that is our best option", Oliver replied.

Shado turned to Slade and said, "How about we spar? Whoever wins gets to go up against Hunt?" She was excited to finally get her adrenaline pumping again.

"Oh your on but I must warn you, I am not attending that party filled with rich kids who have nothing better to do."

"I'll guess we'll see about that."

The two of them took their fighting stances while the two blondes backed up to give them space. Then without any signal Slade charged and began the fight with a sudden wave of fast punches and kicks that Shado easily blocked, and returned a few of her own. That lasted for quite a few minutes before Slade tried to flip Shado onto her back, but she landed on her feet. When he tried for a second time Shado turned and flipped him over, hitting the cement floor with a hand placed across his neck and an arm lifted up ready to punch.

"Looks like I won", she said smugly while looking down at her friend on the floor. She then stood up and offered a hand to lift him up. Not surprisingly he rejected the offer and stubbornly got up himself.

"I guess your stuck with us Slade", Sara smiled.

He humphed and replied annoyed, "I will get you back for making me go to this party kid, just you wait." _Dammit, this is going to be a nightmare,_ he thought.

"Hey, it's not my fault you were invited", Oliver answered back. _I guess I can look forward to a few nice bruises from future training with Slade._

 _"_ I don't like this new guy either", Slade stated. _First, I have to go to this horrific excuse to stand in the same room as hundreds of complete strangers and now I have to be followed around by this wannabe bodyguard. No thank you. "_ I mean, what kind of name is _Diggle_ anyway?"

Oliver teased back, "What kind of name is Slade?" By the angry look on his brother's face he thought _maybe now wasn't the best time for a joke._

"The name of the guy who is going to kick your arse the next time we train", he threatened.

Shado added jokingly, "Sure about that Slade, maybe your getting a little old."

Sara could tell this argument was escalating so she intervened, "Alright, look we have accomplished more difficult things than evading a bodyguard and I'm sure if we ditch him enough, he'll eventually quit."

Shado replied, "Sounds like a plan. So I guess while you guys finish up here, I will go have a nice chat with a Mr. Hunt." So, while the rest of them continued to talk about their plans for the party, Shado left to put on her father's hood, grab her bow and arrows, and track down her first target.

* * *

A bald headed and stout man surrounded by three of his minions traveled down a dark street in a parking garage. "You remind Grell I put him on the bench, I can take him off. I will turn him into a cautionary tale", he stated firmly.

"Yes, Mr. Hunt."

"And this attorney Laurel Lance-you said said she wasn't going to be a problem anymore. I told you to fix that situation. Why are you still here?" At that the minion walked away so that now there were only two.

 _My job just got easier,_ Shado thought. She first shot an arrow at the overhead light, submerging the men into darkness. Then she fired one at the bodyguard in the shoulder, a shot to injure not kill. She watched as the other armed guard shewed Hunt into the large limo and shot a few rounds into random space hoping to hit the offender.

"You missed", she called out effectively getting the amateur's attention as she fired an arrow into his shoulder too. Once those two were taken care of she fired one through the window of the fancy limo and watched from the top of the vehicle as the bald man with a fat nose got pulled out onto the pavement.

He threw his hands up and screamed, "What?! What?! J-just tell me what you want."

She looked at the man cowering in fear, jumped down, and stood above him as he laid flat on the cold ground. She lifted the mans head by his tie and commanded, "You're going to transfer forty million dollars into Starling City bank account 1141 by ten p.m. tomorrow night."

"Or what?"

She answered firmly, "Or I am going take it, and you won't like how." With that said she turned and ran away, her job done.

As she was leaving she heard Hunt call back, "If I see you again you're dead!" She almost smiled at that one, _yea okay._ To make sure the man knew she was serious she spun around and quickly released an arrow right into the back windshield of his fancy car. When Hunt turned back exasperated at the new hole in his windshield, she was already gone.

* * *

The four of them stepped out of the limo following Diggle who wisely learned his lesson and sat with all of them in the back. Oliver had convinced Slade to wear a button up shirt and fitted suit jacket just like him and the women looked beautiful with Sara wearing a red fitted dress while Shado had on a little black dress with high heels. They were all dressed to party even though none of them actually wanted to be here. As soon as he took a step onto the pavement the paparazzi circled around them like a predator preparing to attack their prey, flashing there cameras and screaming questions at them.

"Mr. Queen, what happened to you on that island?!"

"What was it like there?!"

"How did you meet these new people?!"

"Did you watch your father die?!"

At that last question Oliver stiffened and began to remember watching his father lift the gun towards his head and pull the trigger. The sound of the gun echoing the booming noise coming from the party inside.

Diggle recognized the faraway look on his client's face as PTSD. He had seen the same look on many of his friends from the army and on himself after they came back from the war. He realized maybe something did happen to that billionaire playboy while he was away. In an effort to help the castaways out, he pushed his way through the crazy paps and led them inside.

"Kid, are you alright?", Slade asked concerned for his brother. _I knew coming here was a bad idea,_ he thought.

Oliver shook himself out of the memories and nodded, "Yea, yea I'm fine." Then they headed toward the stairs that led down into the party so he took in a deep breath and put on his Ollie mask, preparing himself for a hectic night. As they walked down Slade checked the timer on his phone and whispered, "53 minutes left on the clock."

They all shared a knowing look with Slade and gave a slight nod. Fifty-three minutes until it was time for Shado to confront Hunt. When they reached the middle of the staircase Tommy looked up with a goofy grin and ran to introduce them. Oliver couldn't help but smile at seeing his best friend in the party scene just like the good old times.

Tommy ran to his best buddy and was so happy that they came. He knew Ollie wouldn't miss the chance to party. He threw an arm over the shoulders of Ollie and Sara and called out on top of his lungs, "Hey! Everybody! It's who we've been waiting for, people of the hour! And Ladies, Gentlemen, please give these four a proper homecoming!"

The hundreds of people dancing and drinking all lifted their glasses and started cheering as the castaways made their way to stage with their perfectly performed smiles.

"I am not standing up there kid so do not push that luck of yours", Slade whispered. _I came to this shindig but that doesn't mean I have to actually participate,_ he thought. Although, Oliver didn't even argue back. He just pushed Slade up onto the stage and sent him a look through his fake smile saying _just go with it._ Slade returned the glare with one of his own effectively conveying _you will pay for this, kid_ all the while maintaining a believable smile. As Oliver lifted a glass and screamed, "I missed tequila!", Slade rolled his eyes. The crowd continued to cheer as "We are the Champions" blasted in the background and they made their way down onto the dance floor.

Tommy couldn't help but notice the giant straight faced man standing off to the side burning a hole into Oliver's head with his laser beam eyes so he teased, "Hey, does he wipe for you too."

Slade snorted at that. He had to admit that he was starting to warm up towards the rich boy. Tommy reminded him a lot of Oliver when he first came to the island: bad humor, and carefree.

Sara replied, "No, he literally just stands there, like he is now...like all the time."

Before Oliver could respond though he caught his sister in the act of buying drugs as he was surveying the people around them, looking for anything that could pose as a threat. He muttered to his friends, "Excuse me for a minute."

Slade was surprised by the kid's sudden departure. _He can't leave us here in the midst of all of this. "_ Hey Kid, where ar-", he stopped when he saw where he was heading. He rather face the party than get in the middle of sibling drama.

Oliver walked through the hectic crowd to reach his little sister surrounded by her under-aged friends. He casually scooped her away and asked, "Thea, what are you doing here?"

She looked up at her brother and smiled, "Partying, what does it look like?" All the while stealthily slipping the pills into her purse without Ollie noticing.

Not stealthy enough. He noticed. "Who even let you in here?"

"I'm pretty sure it was someone who said, "Right this way Miss. Queen"", she answered wisely.

"Well, they shouldn't have. You can't be here Thea", he replied while looking down sharply at the short brunette.

She looked up at him annoyed, "Ollie, I'm not twelve anymore." _He can't seriously be having this conversation with me,_ she thought.

"No, seventeen."

"Ollie I love you, but you can't come back here and judge me, especially for being just like you."

 _Okay, maybe I deserved that. But it still doesn't make this right,_ he thought. So, he tried to be understanding and replied softly, "I know it couldn't have been easy for you when I was away-." He didn't really know how else to say that. That he had been stranded in hell.

She looked at him as if he was telling a funny joke and argued back, "Away? No. You died. My brother and my father died. I went to your funerals."

He looked down at his feet. He knew it must have been hard for her. He knew what it felt like to lose people you cared about. "I know."

"No, you don't. Mom had Walter, and I had no one. You guys all act like it's cool, let's forget about the last five years. Well, I can't. For me, it's kind of permanently in there, so I'm sorry if I turned out some major disappointment, but this me is the best I could do with what I had to work with." Then she went back to her friends and stormed away, "Let's bounce."

While she was talking Oliver slipped the pills out of her purse. He didn't know how to respond to her though. What was he supposed to say? _I know what it feels like because I watched dad die._ Or maybe, _It's permanently in me too, I remember it every time I go to sleep._ He couldn't get the last five years out of his head. He wished he could forget it. But then again he couldn't fault her for feeling that way because he purposely acted like none of it happened, like he was the same person from before.

Diggle watched as his client walked away and stopped to throw away his sister's pills in the trash. He nodded observantly and again started to recognize that this man was definitely not the boy who left five years ago. He followed Oliver back to his group of friends, wondering what mysteries were hidden within those four.

Shado saw Oliver approaching and asked, "How'd it go?" By the look on his face she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"Not good."

"Just take it one step at a time Oliver. You'll get through to her", Shado said comfortingly.

Sara added, "Well, I think we could all use some drinks. I'll be right back." And with that she went towards the bar. As she was pushing through the crowd with the flashing lights temporarily blinding her vision, she accidentally slammed into someone. She looked up and saw a light face framed in brown waves. _Just my luck._ Of course out of all these people she walks into Laurel.

"Oh, Sara I was uh-just looking for you."

"Congrats, you found me", she said sarcastically and then tried to walk away.

Laurel chased after her and called out, "Sara wait please", placing a hand on her sister's shoulder.

Sara turned around sharply, her blonde locks whipping behind her, and sent a hard glare towards her sister. "What do want Laurel?"

"I-I want you to come home", she answered softly.

Sara moved to turn around and walk away. She didn't want to go back. She was still angry with her sister and she liked living with her friends. She felt like she belonged when she was with them because after everything they've been through; they understood each other. She can't say the same for Laurel. Although, before she got far, the ever stubborn Laurel stopped her.

"Wait-, I also wanted to say that I'm sorry." Sara could hear the sincerity in her voice so she conceded and agreed to listen to what she had to say. "I was wrong in making assumptions about what happened to you... and Oliver while you were away. I shouldn't have said those things to him and I want you to know that if you ever want to talk about what you went through, I'm here."

Sara knew her sister was being genuine so she tried to be nice, "I appreciate your apology Laurel, but I think you need to say that to Ollie." With that said she left to do what she intended to do before she got sidetracked by Laurel: get drinks. When she got back after trudging through the mobs of people miraculously without spilling anything, Shado was getting ready to leave.

"I'm guessing that the clock is about to strike and Cinderella's going to have to leave the ball", Sara said as she handed out drinks.

Slade replied, "You'd be right, Goldilocks."

"Then it's time we put on a little show for the SCPD", Oliver added.

They all ran up the stairs so that it appeared as if they were fleeing the building. They stopped at the platform halfway up to the next floor and Slade pulled out the duffle bag that they had hidden there earlier. He reached inside and pulled out a green hood, the same hood that Shado was about to put on for her little business meeting with Hunt. The four castaways stood directly in front of the security camera as they quizzically looked down at the green hood, acting as if they had never seen the thing before in their lives. Then, Sara took it from Slade and they all ran up the stairs quickly as if they were about to storm the office building next store; which they were, just not all of them. After Shado left, the others all retreated back to the party.

* * *

Detective Lance stormed the party followed by SCPD officers and a SWAT team. He commanded, "Search the building, roof to basement. Find him!" He then stalked up to the center stage and called out over the drunk party goers, "Starling City Police Department! The party's over, kids." The crowd booed him as he left in search of the vigilante. But he wasn't surprised by who he found instead, "Oh, Mr. Merlyn. Imagine my shock at finding you here. Did you roofie anyone special tonight, huh?" He had a strong dislike for the Merlyn kid, particularly because the the boy had a thing for his daughter.

Oliver interjected as he walked over to Lance followed by all three of his friends. "Detective! This is a private party."

Sara came over and pretended to act surprised, "Dad! What are you doing here?"

Lance looked towards his daughter, "Sara! I should've known. Don't you see that these boys are bad influences-."

Sara cut off the lecture and replied, "Dad, this is our welcome home bash, what's going on?"

"Oh, well there was an incident at Adam Hunt's building tonight. You know anythin' about that?" He pointed his question at Oliver.

Oliver answered with the question, "Who's Adam Hunt?"

"He's a millionaire bottom feeder, and I'm kinda surprised you aren't friends."

Sara replied exasperated, "Dad! Okay that's enough."

Oliver added, "Sorry, I've been out of town...a while." Slade smirked at that.

"Yea. Well, he just got attacked by a vigilante in a green hood."

Shado gasped, "Oh my God, that's terrible!" _They all should have gone into acting,_ Slade thought.

"Here, I can help. I'll offer a reward", Oliver said. Then he called out smiling happily, "Hey everybody! Two million dollars to anybody that can find a nut bar in a green hood!" The crowd echoed him with their cheers.

Lance turned away muttering, "Stupid billionaires."

Tommy watched the Detective go and turned to Ollie stating, "Some coincidence, I mean, you asking to have your party here, and Hunt getting robbed right next door."

"If I were you Tommy, I'd just be glad you're alive", Oliver stated with a serious undertone to his voice.

 _Well, that's not creepy at all,_ Tommy thought sarcastically. He had been noticing slight differences in his friend's behavior ever since he got back and this comment just pushed him to finally ask, "What happened to you on that island?"

Not willing to lie to his buddy's face and wanting to keep him from asking anymore questions he stared intimidatingly into Tommy's eyes and answered seriously, "A lot." Then he joined back up with his friends and Diggle drove the four castaways back home.

Tommy just stood their for a moment watching his best friend go. _Something is definitely different about him,_ he observed. He couldn't help but think about the time he had gone to China looking for Ollie. It was another coincidence that Ollie had been stranded on an island so close to the place where someone logged into his email account. This thought had been bugging him ever since they got back home: _Were they really on that island the whole time they were gone?_ The clues were all there: his Chinese suitcase, his ability to speak fluent Russian, the email account getting pinged in China, his odd behavior. He just didn't know if it was true, if his observations were correct, because if he was right then Oliver had been lying to him, to everyone, ever since they got home. _But Ollie wouldn't lie to me, right?_

* * *

The four castaways circled around the computer atop the metal desk in their vigilante cave, watching the forty million dollars from Adam Hunt transfer into the people of Starling's bank accounts.

"Nice job, Shado", Slade complemented even though he still wished he had been the one to go out into the field.

Oliver looked at his teammates and smiled as he crossed their first name off the list, "Looks like we are officially in business."

Darkness surrounded the mansion as Moira spoke in quiet words with her head of security, "The police weren't able to track the men hired to kidnap Oliver back to us and they never will. Should we arrange another abduction?"

Moira stood in the chilled night air and replied flatly, "No. There are other ways of finding out what my son knows."

* * *

 **A/N: I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for everyone who has encouraged me to keep writing by leaving such nice reviews! Also, thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow.**

* * *

The sound of metal batons could be heard clanking in the basement of the nightclub that was currently under construction. They had made some progress in setting up their vigilante base of operations. Oliver had set up a computer atop a steel industrial table near the stairs leading down from a secret side entrance that had been placed on the side of the brick building. They salvaged some of the debris from the construction into work-out equipment such as: weight lifting cinder blocks from chains hanging from the ceiling or using metal pipes that were yet to be torn out as make shift fighting dummies. At the moment Shado was making her way up a rope that hung from the rafters while Oliver made his way up the classic salmon ladder. Slade was sparring with Sara in the one clearance among the cluttered mess and piles of equipment that hadn't been touched yet. They were meeting each other hit for hit with the batons for quite a while before they shared a look of understanding signaling them both to stop.

Sara commented teasingly, "Not bad Slade. For an old man, you still got it."

Slade scoffed, "Not bad yourself, little birdie." Then he looked up at Oliver hanging from the top of the salmon ladder and called, "Your up kid." He couldn't help but notice the look of impending doom on his face as he reluctantly dropped to floor and made his way over. He smiled as he thought, _Ah, the kid remembers my threat. It's time for a little pay-back._

"Ugh, let's just get this over with", Oliver replied. He inhaled deeply preparing himself for the wrath of Slade. As soon as he caught the baton that Sara had tossed to him Slade launched his attack. Without a second to think he let his instincts take over and ducked just in time to miss the baton aimed at his head. They continued to jab and swipe at each other in a battle of skills. Watching on the sidelines one could clearly tell that the two men were both excellent fighters.

This went on for a while as they both landed a few good hits. Slade made sure to take every chance he got at leaving a mark on the kid. As they fought he couldn't help but smile. _Now, this is what I call fun,_ he thought. After a while he could tell the kid was starting to get tired because his form started to slip. He watched as Oliver lowered the batons away from his face to block one of his attacks and so he took the opportunity to whack the kid right across the cheek.

 _Wham!_ Oliver felt the baton slam his face and his balance failed him as he crashed to the floor, catching his fall by putting his hands out in front of him. Luckily, Slade had decided that was enough and let him pick himself back up. He quickly got back on his feet and saw the smug smile on his friend's face as he said, "You got to keep those arms up kid."

"You feel better now?", he asked.

"Any chance at beating you puts a smile on this bloke's face", he said with a giant tooth-filled grin.

Oliver smiled sarcastically and lifted a hand to touch the red mark on his left cheek. He winced as he thought, _that'll definitely leave a bruise. "_ You couldn't aim for below the neck? How am I going to explain this one to my family?"

"Not my fault you suck at fighting. I still haven't a clue how you survived those first months on the island without me."

Oliver scoffed insulted by such claims, "Uh- what I am just as good as you. I wasn't at first, but I am now."

"Then why did I win?", Slade asked smugly.

Before Oliver could retort back Shado interjected,"Enough, you both are exceptional fighters and neither of you win or lose all the time. About your face Oliver, well your going to have to come up with some believable excuse."

Sara offered, "Just tell them you ran into Laurel again. I'm sure they'd believe that."

Oliver answered sarcastically, "Haha very funny. Yea, it will match my black eye just perfect."

"Alright, alright, we have a lot of work to do in this place. So, if we want to put this training in the field we better get moving", Shado said picking up a sledge hammer to start knocking down some of the unnecessary walls upstairs. The other castaways followed her lead and got to work.

* * *

The next day found the four friends sitting at a booth in Big Belly Burger for dinner. Diggle was with them, quietly eating his burger nearby while keeping a watchful eye on them and their surroundings.

"So, who's next on the list Ollie?", Sara asked. They were planning on going after their next target tonight, if they could just escape the bodyguard.

"Marcus Redman, he stole thirty million dollars from his employee's pension plans."

They all nodded, agreeing that the man in question deserved to be the next target. Shado asked the group, "So, who wants to put on the hood next?" As of now they hadn't gotten their suits yet, therefore they could only go out into the field one at a time. They also wanted to wait a while before showing all of their vigilante faces to the public because they needed to point suspicion away from themselves first.

"How about a game of rock, paper, scissors?", Oliver suggested.

Sara smiled, "Come on, what are we five years old?"

Slade looked at Oliver and said, "Let's do it!"

Shado laughed as Sara face-palmed muttering something about the both of them being children. She stuck out her hands to go up against Slade and at the _shoot_ formed the shape of scissors.

"Rock! I win!", Slade smiled. Then he turned to Oliver and warned, "Pick carefully, kid."

Oliver and Slade said together, "Rock, paper, scissors, and shoot!...". At the same time they each revealed their hand: Oliver with paper, Slade with scissors.

"Looks like I beat you again, kid. I will be the one to have a nice chat with Marcus Redman tonight." _Finally, I get some action in the field,_ he thought. One thing he was having a hard time getting used to in Starling was that there wasn't always a constant fight for survival, a villain trying to kill them, no adrenaline rush.

"Okay then I will go ditch Diggle and meet you guys at the club?", Oliver asked.

Shado answered, "Sounds like a plan."

With a destination in mind Oliver got out of the booth and walked towards the bodyguard sitting at a table nearby. "Dig, I have to use the bathroom", he informed the man in an innocent tone.

"Alright sir", Dig replied as he stood up to follow his client towards the restrooms.

Oliver watched as the man seemed to want to follow him inside so he added with a timid smile, "You don't have to come in. I kinda have to take care of some business, if you know what I mean." He was hoping that that statement was enough to make the indifferent man a little uncomfortable, uncomfortable enough that he would stay in the hallway.

Thankfully, Diggle knew how to take a hint. He nodded, "Alright, I will be right outside." With that said he took up a stance right outside the door as Oliver walked in. As he searched his environment for a good escape he saw the window on the wall adjacent to the sinks. _Perfect._ He was in luck that the window could easily be lifted open from the inside so he wouldn't have to create too much noise. The only problem was how the hell was he supposed to get through that hole? There was nothing he could use to lift himself up in order to swing his legs through. Therefore the only option was going head first. He wasn't too worried about taking too long because Dig would probably just assume it was a stomach ache. Although, the noise was going to be an issue. He decided the only thing he could do is try and cover that noise up with something else. With some quick thinking, he came up with the best possible solution: he flushed the toilet. Now with only a limited time to high tail it out of there he rapidly pulled up the sliding window, shoved his head through the opening, and tried his best to maneuver his way out. _Damn this small window,_ he thought as he struggled to get out of the bathroom. He could tell that the toilet was almost done flushing and he was still stuck. Deciding to just forget grace and hurry his ass out of there, he pushed himself backwards and fell four feet out of the side of Big Belly Burger landing with a hard thump onto the sidewalk. Unfortunately his fall was not noiseless because as he fell backwards his foot got caught on the window and caused the thing to slam shut. Not willing to risk Diggle catching him trying to escape he wasted no time in picking himself up off the ground and making a run for it. The only thought going through his mind as he ran was, _Slade is never going to let me live this one down._

Diggle stood patiently besides the door to the men's bathroom. He had originally planned on just waiting inside with Oliver because he didn't think the playboy would be bathroom shy: apparently he was. Ever since he had been hired by the Queen's he had been observing Oliver and his friends because honestly what else does a bodyguard have to do other than observe? As he watched them he noticed things that surprised him. Every time they were in a public setting, even with just his family, it was like he was putting on a persona. It was like the guy was trying to hide who he was, how he had changed, from everyone but the three people that spent the last five years with him. Dig could understand that. After three tours in a war zone he understood coming home and seeing everything in a completely different light. Maybe something more happened on that island than they led people to believe? As Diggle pondered this he was shaken out of his thoughts by a loud _thud!,_ followed by a giant _slam!_ Rushing into the restroom, expecting to find some kind of imminent danger, he caught a glimpse of Oliver running hurriedly away through the recently closed window like a kid trying to escape getting caught for doing something they weren't supposed to. _Dammit, I will not let this rich kid make a fool out of me again,_ he thought. Determined to not lose his client he raced out of the building, not failing to notice that as he was keeping guard over the men's room the other castaways had left. It was time he found out where the four of them ran off too every time he was ditched. Not wasting any time trying to get in his vehicle and start the car, he chased after the billionaire as fast as his legs could take him. _What the hell is this guy, an Olympic track star? Damn, this kid could run._ He watched Oliver turn a corner, so he followed after him. He was far enough behind that it seemed his client didn't know he was still following. It didn't take long for him to start breathing heavily. _Where the hell is this guy going?_ Wherever the destination was, Diggle was determined to find out. He continued to run through the Glades keeping a safe distance. At one point Oliver must've heard his footsteps because he turned his head towards him. Quickly, Diggle dodged into an alleyway and waited a few seconds before he continued the chase. Eventually after what felt like hours of running, but was probably only about five minutes, he watched Oliver turn into an alleyway besides the old Queen Steel Factory. _Why would he come here?_ Not wanting to announce his presence just yet, he came to a stop outside the alley and took a moment to catch his breath. His heart was racing in his chest as he panted, desperately needing to fill his lungs with more oxygen. _Man, am I out of shape! I feel like I'm about to have a damn heart attack!_ After a moment of taking the time to breathe in deeply and lower his pulse a bit, he turned his head to peer into the mysterious alley. Oliver was gone, but he watched as the door to the abandoned building closed. _What could he be doing in there?_ He now knew that whatever booty calls Queen was using as an excuse to explain his absences to his mother were complete lies. There was something shady going on here and the part of him that always wanted to do the right thing and make the world a better place told him to find out what was going on.

Oliver trotted down the stairs and was greeted with the scene of Slade wearing the hood and putting on his quiver of arrows.

Slade grumbled, "I hate these damn things. I rather use my swords." Another downside of not being able to put on their own vigilante suits was that they couldn't used their preferred choice of weapons.

Shado reminded, "Until suspicion is away from us, it can only seem as if there is one vigilante in town."

Sara was the first to see Ollie coming down the stairs and asked, "How was the great escape?"

Oliver answered, "I am never climbing through that window again." As he thought about his fall he subconsciously rubbed the spot on his back that hit hard on the cement sidewalk.

Sara asked, "I guess that means it didn't go well?"

Oliver humphed, "You could say that. When will this stubborn guy quit already?" He didn't want to elaborate any more than that because they would have a party teasing him about his clumsy fall.

"Alright kids, I'll be back", Slade said before he hopped up the stairs on his way to go confront Marcus Redman. As he walked out the door leading to the alleyway, he sensed something was off. Throughout the years he had always trusted his instincts, so he looked around but nothing seemed different. _This is Starling City, not Lain Yu,_ he reminded himself. Figuring it was probably nothing, he climbed up the fire escape of the adjacent building and began jumping across town towards his target.

Dig quickly turned away when he heard the door of the factory open up again. He moved away from the entrance of the alley and tucked his head down hoping he wouldn't be seen as Queen walked out. After a few moments of waiting, and Oliver never came. Walking with caution, he quietly looked back into the dark alley and could not believe his eyes and what he saw. He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, expecting them refocus and see something different because what he was looking at couldn't be true. Nope, it's still there. He watched the hood climb up the fire escape and onto the roof of the building he was currently standing in front of. The only thing he cold think was, _Oliver Queen is the hood._ He wasn't sure what to do with this revelation, but then he noticed that the door to the factory was still closing. Impulsively, he hurriedly ran into the ominous alley and caught the large metal door before it slammed shut and locked. With his hand on his gun that was in his waist holster, he slowly made his way done the staircase.

The three castaways were chatting as they tried to clean up the place some more. As they were setting up a a bunch of sharply tipped arrows they heard the descent of footsteps coming down the staircase. They could tell just by the sound, that they didn't belong to Slade. Whoever was about to enter their private lair was a stranger, and whoever they were was about to be surrounded by three very dangerous (future) vigilantes. Immediately they each grabbed a weapon and quietly moved towards the stairs. Oliver and Shado each pointed a bow and arrow towards the unknown trespasser, while Sara took a fighting stance holding knives and batons. When the strange man made his way to the bottom of the staircase, they were all surprised to see a face they recognized. It was Diggle.

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 **Hey everyone, thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed, followed, and favorited! I love seeing your thoughts on the chapters. I really hope you all enjoyed this one!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow.**

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The four of them stood there, each of them staring at each other with wide-eyed disbelief.

Questions started racing through Oliver's mind, _How did he find us?, Did he follow me?, How much does he know? Can we trust him?_

When Diggle reached the bottom of the stairs his jaw dropped to the floor. Standing in front of him was his client, Oliver Queen, and two of the kid's friends all aiming their weapons in his direction. His first instinct was to pull out his gun, but this was the man he had been hired to protect. _It doesn't look like they need my protection, in fact I could probably use some from them,_ he thought. Realizing he was outnumbered, he lifted his hands in surrender and said in a calm tone, "Okay look, I don't know what the hell is going on here but if you all put your weapons down, we can talk about it."

The three castaways shared a look that Diggle only hoped meant they were backing down. He sighed a breath of relief when they lowered their arms. _I'm not dying today._ Although they still stood there with threatening glares, silent as if waiting for him to explain his presence so he said gratefully, "Thank you. Now can you please explain to me what is going on?" He was honestly utterly confused. When he saw Oliver go in and the hood come out he was certain that they must be the same person, but now Oliver was standing in front of him not wearing a hood, but still holding a bow and arrow. Shado was holding one of those too, were they both capable of using those archaic things? And where was Slade? Was he the one under the hood?

Before he got any answers he was going to have to answer some of their questions first. Shado had no idea what this guy's intentions were. They hadn't known him for long and none of them were going to spill their secrets to him just because he asked nicely. So she asked sternly, but it was obvious she expected an answer, "How about you tell us how you got here, and then we'll consider talking."

Diggle raised his eyebrows. _Okay, they clearly meant business._ Nodding deciding to appease them before he got shot with one of their pointy green arrows, he answered, "Alright, well I followed you Oliver. I guess I'm not as easy to ditch as you thought." He couldn't help himself when he added that last little jibe. _That's right rich kid, I ain't no fool._

Sara was surprised by that, but admitted it made sense. Continuing the interrogation she asked firmly, "What do you know?"

Diggle wasn't sure how truthful he should be, but he guessed if he wanted answers he was going to have to be honest. He just hoped that this information wasn't one of those _if I tell you, I'd have to kill you_ kind of things. So he conceded, "Okay all I know is that when I got here, I saw Oliver go in and the vigilante come out. At first I thought that you, Queen, were the hood but now I'm pretty confused because you're clearly still here." At their hesitant looks he added, "I promise I'm telling the truth."

Oliver looked at the others and they each formed a small circle to discuss how to proceed. While still keeping one eye on Diggle and one eye on each other, they spoke quietly enough that he couldn't hear them. He whispered, "This isn't good."

Shado replied, "Yea, no kidding. Oliver how could you not know he was following you!"

"I didn't know he was there, I'm sorry. I was running so fast, I figured even if he did see me leave he wouldn't be able to keep up."

Sara inhaled and exhaled slowly before answering, "Okay, well he's here now and he knows one of us is the vigilante. So are we going to tell him?"

Shado added, "Well, he'll figure it out when Slade comes down here dressed like Robin Hood."

Oliver suggested, "What if we just knock him out?"

Sara looked at him sarcastically, "And what? Keep him locked down here like some kind of pet, no that's not going to work."

Shado looked to Oliver, "You spend the most time with him, do you think he is trustworthy?"

He mulled it around in his head and replied seriously, "I think that if we told him why we are on this mission, he would understand what we are doing. He is a soldier, he wants to help people and make the world a safer place."

Sara asked, "So what are you saying?"

"I am saying that I think if we ask him to help us, be a part of our mission, I might be able to convince him to not tell anyone."

Shado nodded, "Okay, I don't see any better options. This better work Oliver, or else we are all going to be in trouble."

"I know." Now with a plan, they separated and turned back to Diggle.

Diggle watched their private conversation curiously. He couldn't make out what was being said, but he could tell that they were not happy about him being here. _What did I get myself into?_ He contemplated making a run for it, but thought that would probably put an even bigger target on his back and he couldn't run fast enough to escape them anyway. Suddenly, they must've come to a decision on what to do with him because they all turned towards him. _Well, this is it, the moment of truth._

Sara started, "Okay, we want to tell you everything, but how do we know we can trust you?"

Diggle looked at them and replied succinctly, "You don't." He wasn't going to plead to them how good of person he was, he was a straight shooter and they were going to have to come to that conclusion on their own.

Unbeknownst to Diggle, they liked that answer. Oliver had a gut instinct that told him that Diggle was trustworthy. His instincts got him this far, so he decided he was going to tell Dig everything. He nodded and took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to reveal. He started at the beginning, "When the Gambit went down, and I came up out of the water my father saved me by pulling me into the life raft."

Diggle interjected confused, "Wait, I thought you said he died in the accident." He wasn't really sure where the Queen kid was going with this story, but figured it must have something to do with this, so he listened.

"I lied. My father survived the Gambit. My father, another crewman, and I floated on that life raft for days. We were low on water and my father knew that none of us were going to make it to land on what little we had." Masking his emotions he continued the next part stoically, "My father sacrificed himself for me. He took out a gun and shot the crewman and then himself in the head. Before he died he told me that he wasn't the person I thought he was and that I needed to right his wrongs. He killed himself so that I could survive, survive and right his mistakes, survive and save this city."

"Wow, that's um pretty heavy." He didn't really know what else to say. That was not what he was expecting. Then Oliver took a worn out leather book from his pocket and held it out to him. He took it cautiously and looked inside, it was full of names.

"I found that on my father when I buried him. It is a list of the people who have wronged this city. When I found it, I understood what my father meant. By taking down the people on that list, the people who have been poisoning this city, we will save Starling."

Suddenly understanding started to dawn on him. "Let me guess, Adam hunt is on this list?"

Oliver nodded somberly. Finally revealing the full truth he said, "Slade was the one you saw under the hood when you got here, Shado was the one who took down Adam Hunt, Sara and I plan on wearing it next."

"Wait so let me get this straight. The four of you are all posing as the same vigilante." _This day just keeps getting weirder._

 _"_ As of now, yes." He didn't want to explain any further than that. He didn't want to divulge their plans for the future without knowing how he would handle this current information.

"I did not see that coming."

Oliver continued, "We want you to help us."

 _This is unbelievable._ He was still trying to wrap his head around what this kid just told him and now they were offering him to join their team? It felt like he was getting inducted into some evil clan. "Th-this is ridiculous. What you spent five years on an island without room service and suddenly you found religion? You are insane, you are all insane."

"No, I think you understand why we are doing this. You were in the military, you're a fellow soldier. You want to make this world a better place, and by being a part of this team, you can do that."

Diggle scoffed, "What the four of you are doing is against the law! And your no soldier, so don't pretend that you know me."

"You're right. Billionaire and playboy Oliver Queen wouldn't understand. But you don't know what we've been through in the last five years, so don't pretend that you know me. Vigilantism is against the law, but we haven't killed anyone. Our goal is to help this city and you can't argue with that."

Diggle was speechless, and that didn't happen too often. He was still trying to process what he had just learned. Oliver Queen, Sara Lance, Shado Fei, and Slade Wilson are all The Hood. And they wanted him to join the team? Finally he asked, "By joining the team, you mean becoming The Hood No. 5 because I'm pretty sure the four of you got that covered."

Sara answered, "No, you can help us keep our cover."

 _Ah, so that's why they want me. They just need help keeping their secret._ Should he do it? What if they got caught? Then he would be considered an accomplice. _I just had to follow the damn guy._ He honestly had no idea what to do. On one side he actually kind of wanted to say yes. But was that the right thing to do?

Shado could tell that Diggle was conflicted so she offered, "Look, we understand if you need to think it over a little as long as you don't tell anyone."

"No-no I'll do it." The words came out of his mouth before he could really think about it. _I better not regret this._ He knew that it was going to be risky, but it was worth it. Ever since he left the military he felt like he no longer had a purpose. Being a part of this team could fill the vacant spot that being a soldier used to occupy inside of him. Even though vigilantism was against the law, his gut told him that this was the right thing to do.

Sara looked hesitant at his decision though, "Are you sure?" _He answered that pretty fast._

"Yes", he nodded confidently. "I want to help, but let me be clear about something. I am not joining on to be some kind of sidekick, I'm a full part of this team."

Oliver smiled and stuck out his hand for the new member to shake, "Agreed." As Diggle gave his hand a firm shake he thought, _phew, dodged a bullet today. Looks like we are still in business._

Before anything else could be said footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs again. Oliver and the others immediately recognized them. It was Slade. As far as Oliver was concerned convincing Diggle to keep their secret was the easy part. How in the world was he going to explain this to Slade?

Sara wasn't exactly sure how this next conversation was going to go. All she knew was that Slade would not be happy with this new development. _I would not want to be in Oliver's shoes right now,_ she thought.

Slade trotted down the stairs with a wide grin across his face. Marcus Redman was taken care of, and now they could cross another name off the list. Mission complete. _That was a piece of cake. Those guys never stood a chance._ When he reached the bottom of the stairs, the smile fell right off his face. Standing in the middle of the room was the last person he ever expected to see. Well, he didn't really expect to see anyone besides his three friends. Immediately assuming the bodyguard as a threat to his family, he lifted his bow and pulled an arrow from the quiver still strapped to his back.

"What the hell are you doing here, mate?", he growled.

Diggle turned around slowly with his hands up. _You've got to be kidding me._ "Hey man, it's all good. Just put the weapon down."

Slade was confused. How come his team wasn't arming themselves? Did they not see this _Diggle_ as a threat?

Shado decided to intervene before things made a wrong turn and someone ended up a human pincushion. "Slade, it's okay. You can put the bow and arrow down, no one is in danger here", she spoke calmly while looking straight into his dark brown eyes.

He reluctantly lowered the bow, trusting that his team knew what they were doing. Then he asked, "Can someone please explain to me what he is doing here?!" As he spoke he pointed a finger in Diggle's direction.

Diggle didn't need other people to speak for him. He was quite capable of doing that for himself. So he answered calmly, "I can explain. After the four of you _so_ _politely_ ditched me at the diner, I followed Oliver here and-" Before he could continue he was cut off abruptly by Slade.

"Wait-, kid he followed you? How could you let that happen?!" _Of course the kid had something to do with this._

Oliver looked like a deer caught in headlights. _Damn. How am I going to explain this one? Too bad I can't just blame this one on a burning plane, but maybe the window? Yes._ "It was an accident. The window in that bathroom was so small, I could barely fit through it! When I fell my foot must've got caught because the window slammed shut. I guess that is probably what alerted Diggle that I was trying to escape."

Slade shook his head and massaged his temples as if he had a headache as he listened to the kid's story. He'll comment on that later, but right now he wanted to know everything that happened while he was gone. "Then what happened?"

Diggle took over once again, "I followed Queen back here. I kept my distance so he wasn't aware that I was there. When I got here I saw him enter and you exit wearing quite the costume." He felt like a broken record telling this story again. He just hoped that Slade would be as easy going as the others and decide not to kill him. So far judging by this guy's character, he wasn't so sure his chances were that high.

Slade was itching to pull out another arrow. He knew?! What were they thinking? Did they tell him anything? He would trust this family with his life, he had done so multiple times, but right now he had no idea what they were doing. "How much does he know?", he asked them gruffly.

Sara entered the conversation and answered informatively, "We told him Slade. He would of figured it out on his own if we didn't. At least now he has heard our side and understands why we are doing this."

Slade looked to Oliver, "You mean, you told him about-?" He saw the seriousness in the kid's eyes as he nodded his confirmation, understanding what he was referring to. He knew the kid didn't like telling that story. If the kid was willing to open up about how his father died to this man, then he guessed he could at least _try_ to be a little nicer. He then asked, "Are you sure we can trust him?"

Shado told him, "He is a part of the team now and agreed to help us keep our cover. If it makes you feel any better, I think we can trust that he is telling the truth."

The two blondes nodded in agreement. Diggle added, "Look man, I'm not here to play games. It doesn't matter if you don't trust me because that has to be earned. I will show all of you that I'm trustworthy by keeping your secret. I have nothing to gain by telling the world who is under the hood."

Slade nodded with respect. That was a good answer. "Well, you definitely have more potential than Oliver did when we first met on the island."

Diggle didn't show it, but he was so relieved. He figured that meant his cause of death was not going to be an arrow through the heart. Then he thought about everything that just happened and all he could think was, _Did I really just become a vigilante?_

Oliver scoffed at Slade's remark, "Hey, what would you expect? It's not like I was ex-special forces." _Seriously, it's not like I had ever been trained before then._

Slade laughed as he replied, "You were worse than most civilians. Those big feet of yours were always gettin' in the way, and I guess they still do huh, kid?" He couldn't help himself with that little jibe. _The kid just makes it so easy sometimes._

Oliver was waiting for Slade to tease him about that. At least he wasn't angry because the bruise on his face was proof enough of how that would have turned out. He argued back, "I'd like to see you climb through that window Slade. I bet you wouldn't even make it past your shoulders."

"That's because I've got more muscle than you, kid." _So easy._

"Oh yea-", Oliver went to answer back but was cut off by Diggle this time.

Diggle turned to Sara and Shado who were listening bemusedly and asked pointing between the two men, "Are they always like this?"

Sara laughed happily as she gave the new guy a pat on the back and replied, "You'll get used to it."

Diggle observed the four castaways around him: Slade and Oliver still bickering, Shado doing research on the computer, Sara putting away her weapons and preparing to head home. He was a part of their team now. He wondered if he would ever gain the level of trust from them that they had for each other. That kind of trust came from depending on one another to stay alive, to survive. He had that with his comrades when he was in the army, maybe someday he would have it with them too.

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 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed! I honestly can't believe how much nice feedback I've gotten on this story! I hope you all are enjoying it and I look forward to reading any thoughts you might have on this chapter!**


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